Eternally Bonded
by TorontoBatFan
Summary: It's May of 1984.  Abby's past comes full circle and changes her and Owen's lives forever.
1. Chapter 1

_Greetings, fellow _Let Me In _fans. Here is the first chapter of my next major Owen/Abby fic. I've been alluding to events in this one for a while now. I do hope that it measures up to everyone's expectations._

_As you know from my other fics, I'm a total review addict. Please feed my addiction. :-D_

_And awayyyyyy we go! :-D_

There were images that emerged from the darkness.

There were roughly-hewn wooden walls, covered with animal skins.

There were candles burning dimly on a table.

She felt a familiar, but dark presence approach her through this mists of slumber.

A ring-laden hand, icy-cold reached out and grasped her by her right shoulder. Her eyes shot open in surprise and saw the cruel-looking face, with the prominent nose looking down at her. And the mouth…her uncle was grinning sinisterly, but the malicious look wasn't what terrified her. It was those long, sharp looking teeth that the grin revealed as he leaned down over her.

Abigail Marshall screamed…..

Cold Creek, Montana; May 1984

Abby screamed and shot up in her bed, lashing out with fingers that had unconsciously adjusted themselves into sharp talons. They whisked through empty air, rather than the face of her uncle.

Abby's breath caught in her throat as she looked around, her predator's eyes taking in the darkness of her bedroom as clearly as Owen could do to his bedroom in the daylight. It was empty.

With a shaking hand, she reached over her bedside table and turned on the light. In truth, she had no idea why she felt she should do that. She was –along with others of her kind- the most efficient night predator that walked the planet. Her senses were attuned for stalking prey. She certainly did not need to turn on her reading lamp…yet she did.

She'd lived here for fourteen months now. For fourteen months, she'd found herself acting –and feeling- more or less like a regular, human girl. She had gotten into the habit of doing things that her vampire nature meant was not necessary…but her reawakened human side did anyways.

Now, with the light on, Abby found herself sitting up in her bed, hugging her legs to her chest. She reached over to the bedside table and picked up the simple Timex watch she'd received as birthday present from her –surrogate- grandfather a few months prior.

The time was coming up on three in the afternoon. She knew it was still full daylight outside. Abby brought a hand up and rubbed her eyes as her mind raced. Despite her more than two centuries of experiences, much of her own condition was still a mystery to her. One thing she DID know was that the vampire's instinct for sleep was a powerful one. To remain awake during the daylight hours was a tremendous effort.

Of course, she knew she could come awake instantly if threatened. In her old apartment in Los Alamos, New Mexico (the place that changed her life for the better in ways she couldn't even begin to count), a painful glance of sunlight over her arm as she lay sleeping in a bathtub had been enough to rouse her from sleep and she was instantly alert enough to launch herself at the intruder who'd unluckily –for both of them- stumbled upon her daytime lair.

However, that was her defenses kicking in. Grandpa Oscar had recounted his tales of World War II to her and Owen, where he'd gone from a dead sleep to awake and M-1 rifle at the ready all due to the sound of a snapping twig. Abby guessed that survival instincts worked more or less the same for humans and vampires alike.

But this…This wasn't a threat. It was…a bad dream? She didn't think she was capable of having them. In over two hundred and twenty years, she had never had any bad dreams before –at least none she could recall. And, she'd definitely had experiences that could cause bad dreams. Until the previous March, pretty much every night for her was an experience that would cause a mortal human to have nightmares for a year. This, Abby was fairly certain that if she was capable of having bad dreams, they'd have started around the time the Seven Years War was concluding.

And what she'd just experienced. It was her last moments as a human being. It was the same image she'd shown Owen once. Why, though, would it invade her sleeping subconscious now?

Abby looked about the room. There nothing at all out of place. The dresser, with the Rubik's Cube Owen had given her in place on top of it, was against one wall of the root cellar. The book case, that held both Abby's reading collection and puzzles, stood firm against the other wall. Next to one side of her bed was a chair, with her discarded jeans neatly folded on top of it. Another pair of jeans –an older pair that she wore when she and Owen worked on their near nightly chores around the ranch- hung from a hook on the wall.

The various decorations on the walls were undisturbed too. Her posters of John Schneider and David Hasselhoff were in their usual spots, as were the murals Owen had done for her. Owen –over the previous year- had taken a large number of photographs of the surrounding countryside, in daylight. He and Grandpa Oscar had them blown up and together had posted them on the walls of Abby's room. His reasoning was that although Abby couldn't see what the surrounding area looked like in the daytime, she could at least have the pictures to see. Those also were undisturbed.

Clearly, nothing had taken place to cause the dream. So, how could…? Abby's contemplation was broken by the sound of the outer door to her shelter opening and then reclosing. She could sense Owen's presence. There was just something about him that was so wonderfully familiar and she'd gotten so she could tell when he was near. And, even if she couldn't do that, the scene of his Hai Karate cologne was a dead giveaway.

She heard the sound of him unlocking the actual door into her room.

"Owen?" She called out to him.

"Abby? You're up?" Owen replied as he opened the door and stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him. He saw Abby, sitting up in bed. The reading light was on. She was seated with her knees pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped around them, pulling the bedclothes up around her nude body. Her face showed obvious signs of worry. Simply her being awake at this time of day was strange. Whenever Owen had come down to the root cellar-turned-bedroom at this time of day before he'd always found Abby peacefully sleeping, and utterly still. The times she'd slept the day away in her steamer trunk -in the first weeks here, prior to Owen and his grandfather converting the root cellar into her bedroom, and the occasional time when Abby lingered too long before dawn, to come downstairs safely, in his bed after they made love- that was now kept in his own bedroom

"Yeah"

"How come?" Owen asked as he stepped over to the dresser, carrying an armful of her folded clothing –she recalled that today was laundry day- and placed them on the dresser, next to the Rubik's Cube. He smiled to himself as he saw the Cube and recalled the night in Los Alamos where he'd lent it to the strange new girl who'd just moved into the apartment next door to his. It was an act of kindness that had changed both his and Abby's lives forever.

"It's kind of weird but…I had a bad dream." Abby said quietly.

"I didn't know you could have those."

"I…I don't…Usually." Abby murmured. She looked at Owen with worried eyes, her arms still hugging her legs up to herself, wrapping the bedclothes around her bare frame. She looked terribly vulnerable and scared to Owen.

Owen stepped over to the bed and sat down next to Abby. He put his arms around her and pulled his lover into a comforting hug. Abby smiled and allowed herself to relax into his touch. She inhaled. Aside from his cologne –his use of which, she found a tad excessive- she could smell many things on him. She could smell the sheep that the Alfredson Ranch raised. She could smell the creosote of the fence posts that he'd been spending the afternoon working on. She could even smell a trace of the pine woods that surrounded the ranch. Now, she savoured these smells as well as his loving touch. To her, these were now scents that comforted her. They were scents of the place she called her home.

Owen, on his part, was also savouring the feel of Abby's cool, smooth skin under his hands. He wanted badly to be strong for her and to be a comfort to her. It worried him to see her so shaken. He'd gotten used to Abby always being so strong and so confidant. (He figured that when one had the unbelieveable superhuman strength she had, one generally wasn't scared of things. The only thing that she showed concern about –beyond feeding- was making sure of shelter as dawn approached.

"It's alright, Abby."

"I know."

"I'm here for you."

"That's why I know it's alright." Abby replied with a faint smile. Owen always made things feel alright with her.

"You've never had a bad dream like that before?"

"I don't remember EVER having a bad dream before. At least not since before I was…turned. This was…terrible. When I woke up, I was slashing out with my claws before I realized I was alone."

"Wow." Owen replied. He'd seen what Abby's hands looked like when her fingernails took on the form of clawed talons. He was fairly sure she could rip someone open. Thinking back to what the remains of his former tormentors in Los Alamos had looked like, on the pool deck when Abby was done with them, he had an idea of what the aftereffect looked like too. "Whenever I've seen you sleep, you always seem so…still." In truth, the times he'd come downstairs and snuggled into bed with Abby towards the end of her daytime sleep, she seemed totally lifeless. She didn't snore. She didn't make noise. He couldn't even recall her moving, beyond in response to the mattress jostling when he himself moved around.

"I know. Like I said, I can't remember having that happen. I'm just glad you weren't close by when I woke up. I might've hurt you by accident."

"Well, I'm here now. You're there when I have those dreams." Owen said. Ever since leaving Los Alamos, Owen had occasional nightmares about the bullying he'd endured. Sometimes it was of him being held under the water at the pool the night Abby ended the bullying once and for all, prior to them embarking for their new life here. Other times, it was just of the other horrible encounters he'd had in either the hallways, the locker rooms, the washrooms, and the numerous other places Kenny, Donny and Mark had made his life a living hell.

"It's alright. I can understand you having bad dreams after what you went through with them." Abby said in a hushed tone. She felt great remorse for the countless people she'd attacked and fed on over the past two centuries. However, for some reason, she had a much harder time feeling sorry for the four monsters who were trying to drown Owen. All the things she had done were by caused her need to feed; her need to survive. Those four had preyed on Owen and hurt him for no other reason than they were able to –being bigger at the time and outnumbering him- and that they wanted to. She also saw how badly Owen's psyche had been affected by the cumulative effect of it. As horrible as some of her actions had been, she'd never taken pleasure in someone else's pain or suffering. Far more than once, Abby had been present when Owen had come awake with a cry after experiencing a nightmare of his encounters with the bullies. She vividly recalled being startled at his cry, as he shot up in his bed, eyes wide. He'd sat there, gasping for air, sweat gleaming on his bare torso as he looked desperately around the room. Soon enough, he'd see that he wasn't in Los Alamos any longer. He was at his grandfather's. The bullies weren't there. Abby, however, was there. As soon as he saw her, staring at him with a concerned face, he settled back down again. Abby would snuggle against him and hold him close. She would rest her head on his chest and get him to talk about the bad dream. Owen would tell her about the dream...and about the real incidents that had caused it. It was hearing about the horrors that were done to him -for months and months on end- that helped Abby to see that perhaps the true monsters of the world weren't necessarily vampires; but humans who chose to hurt others simply because they wanted to.

"What…What was the dream about?" Owen asked gently, as he held her.

"Do you remember, Owen, that night in Los Alamos where I asked you to be me…and what I showed you?"

"Yeah" Owen said in a choked voice as he recalled the sheer onslaught of emotion he'd felt then.

"That's what I saw."

"Wow…You've never had that happen before?" Owen thought that if he'd lived through the scene Abby showed him, it would play over in his head for centuries, on a daily basis. It was perhaps the most horrifying thing he'd ever felt. He could never forget the image of that horrible face leering down upon Abby as she slept. And then seeing that...thing...attack her. Despite Abby being perhaps ten thousand time stronger than he was, Owen still felt an instinctive desire that he had to protect her. It was foolish, he knew; but it was still what he felt. He couldn't reach back into time and protect her then, of course. But, he could still comfort her now though. And that's just what he was going to do.

"Never" Abby thought she might have gone mad if she'd been forced to witness that event over and over again everytime she had gone to ground at daybreak. As it was, she simply gave silent thanks that she had Owen now.

"Well, it doesn't matter. You're safe. It was just a dream." Owen said, as he rocked her gently until the sleep instinct asserted itself and Abby drifted off to sleep once more.

Los Alamos, New Mexico

She'd been here, Jebediah Marshall thought to himself. She'd been in this very room. He looked around the dingy basement room and opened up his senses. It was savoury treat for him. He sensed the two things he lusted for the most in this world: blood and his niece Abigail.

The blood he could sense from several places. From the floor and from an alcove in the wall, were the two strongest sources though. He wondered if his pretty little niece had fed here. Her psychic trace lingered throughout this apartment complex. It was overpowering to him. He could sense her being here. He could sense many strong emotions from her in this place.

This basement room, he'd happened upon just as dawn was coming. This dingy apartment complex was definitely an abomination for someone who held the Marshall name. Just why his niece had opted to live here, he could not fathom –nor care to. All he knew was that the apartment she'd once inhabited abounded with her psychic presence. He'd definitely enjoyed his visit there. The couple who'd moved in there though…had not. He'd listened at the door and was able to discern that they'd sent their daughter to spend the night at a sleepover (whatever that was) and were enjoying a romantic evening alone, waiting for their takeout food to arrive. It was so simple. He knocked on the door, announced he was the deliveryman and asked to come in. They'd said yes. And dinner was then served…for him, at least.

Now, the psychic trail of Abigail was stronger than ever. It had been perhaps a year, or so, since she'd been here. For him –Abigail's maker- that was more than fresh enough.

He sensed it led north. As soon as the sun set that evening, he would go north and continue his pursuit.

The excitement he felt at the idea of seeing her again was immense. He thought back to that time when he last saw her. What he wanted from her was in his grasp…but he was clumsy and gave her a chance to fight him, resulting in him biting her. His self-disgust at his failure emanated from him like wave. The psychic trace reverberated out. He wondered if his little niece was close enough to pick up on it –that memory of their last meeting. Perhaps she might think it only a dream.

No matter. Soon, they would have their reunion, and that would not be any dream.

Jebediah smiled sinisterly. He could barely wait until sunset and the hunt would resume.


	2. Chapter 2

_Greetings dear readers, and welcome to the second chapter of _Eternally Bonded._ I had a hard time getting this chapter started, but I found it flowed very well once I did. I hope everyone enjoys this new chapter._

_FYI, there IS some foreshadowing here for future chapters. The silver bit was inspired by _True Blood. _The theory about silver's power being connected to Judas comes from the movie _Dracula 2000_. (Actually a rather good film, overall. It's not nearly as good as LMI, but it's not bad at all.)_

_The bit about Owen being taught to drive the old pick-up truck...I've heard that many kids on farms are taught to drive the vehicles there long before they're old enough for a license. I thought that since Owen is already living under the radar, Oscar would take it upon himself to teach Owen a needed skill._

_Once again, please feed my addiction to reviews. Rehab failed, so the only thing to prevent withdrawl is reviews. LOL_

_Happy reading everyone! :-D_

May 1984, Cold Creek, Montana

A gentle spring breeze blew over the Alfredson Ranch as dusk approached. In the fields, the sheep the ranch raised moved about, finding their spots to settle in for the coming night. Towards the house Owen gave the screwdriver he was holding a final twist as he finished his last chore of the day –replacing a broken hinge on the paddock gate. He swung the gate back and forth as he examined his handiwork. Seeing that it was done properly he put his tools back into his toolbox, closed it up and strolled back to the ranch house. He looked at his watch, and then at the western horizon. It was closer to sundown than he'd realized.

Abby's troubled sleep the day before had upset his schedule yesterday. He's stayed downstairs with her until he was certain she was asleep again and not troubled by nightmares. That had caused a minor backlog in his work yesterday that had carried over today. Today had been a full and busy day. He'd spent most of the late morning and early afternoon on his correspondence courses, and had been attending to various repair jobs the rest of the afternoon. (Spring, as a rule, was a season that was heavy on repair work, as they kept discovering damage done by the savage Rocky Mountain winter.)

He wondered if Abby had slept well today. He dearly hoped she had. When she got up yesterday evening, she definitely looked like she hadn't rested well –which, of course, she hadn't. The evening's work had been rather hard as well. They had taken the old pick-up truck (Which Oscar had taught Owen to drive this past April. He said his own father had taught him to drive when he was Owen's age; as driving was a needed skill on a ranch. Naturally, Owen was only to exercise this skill on the Alfredson property –that wouldn't be a problem, as the only time Owen generally left the property was a night, with Abby…and when they did that, Abby tended to provide the transportation.) into the back fields. There, the winter frost and spring thaw had turned up some rocks from the ground. Together, Owen and Abby had worked well into the night pulling rocks from the earth and hauling them to the pile where Oscar's own great-grandfather had taken to dropping them. The pile had been depleted by Owen's work on the driveway the previous year. Now, he and Abby were beginning to build it again.

The job had been hard (for him, at least), if not overtly complex. Both he and Abby were left quite dirty from it. Owen had also been truly worn out by the job. Of course, work like that could not begin to affect Abby. In fact, the last rock they dug up was nothing less than a small boulder. (Owen literally had to dig around it with a shovel for it to learn the full size of it.) Abby had simply taken a grip on it and pulled it out of the ground as easily as Owen could pluck a carrot from the garden. She'd carried the massive rock to the pick-up (Owen had to let her know when she was at the edge of the flat-bed as it was so large she couldn't see over it) and set it down as gently as a pebble, with the truck's springs sagging when she set it down and bounding up again when it was offloaded.

Owen, as he often did, when they undertook their various chores, wondered just HOW strong Abby was. He had a feeling that she could give Spider-Man a run for his money. He idly pondered the question: were all vampires as strong as she was? Were some stronger and some weaker? It was strange, when he thought about it. He and Abby had been inseparable every night for more than a year. Yet, he really knew so little about the various details of what she was. To be sure, whenever he thought of something and asked her, she always told him the answer right away. But, as amazing as it seemed, Owen didn't ask that many questions. He simply didn't think to do so. Perhaps it was because Abby was simply…Abby. He loved her for who she was. Their life here had become so normal for the two of them; he honestly never dwelled too much on what she was. He wondered if he should ask more about it. After all, he wanted her to eventually turn him so they could truly always be together. Shouldn't he be trying to find out more about what it would mean? Abby often had said that he had to know what he was asking her to do. Perhaps it was time he learned more.

Owen dropped his toolbox in the garage, and walked over to the side door where he entered the house.

"Owen" His grandfather greeted him from the kitchen.

"Hi Grandpa." Owen responded as he went to the washroom to wash his hands.

"Dinner's ready."

"I'll be right there." Owen called back as he dried his hands. His grandfather was actually a fairly good cook. At the very least, macaroni and cheese wasn't on the menu every night like it was in Los Alamos. In Owen's opinion, he had eaten enough macaroni and cheese to fulfill his lifetime's quota.

"I was out at the rock pile this afternoon. You and Abby really moved that boulder?" Oscar asked in an amazed voice as he dished his and Owen's dinner onto some plates.

"Yeah"

"How'd you manage that?"

"Well, it was pretty much Abby. She did the lifting. I did the guiding."

"Incredible"

"I was afraid the old truck wouldn't be able to move with it." Owen said as he poured himself a glass of skim milk and sat down to a plate of meat loaf, rice and vegetables with his grandfather. In the spring and summer, when the sun set late, the two of them usually had their dinner before Abby got up. She made it clear she didn't mind them eating early. In the late fall and winter, when darkness fell earlier, Abby sat at the table with them and joined in the conversation, if not the food.

"It's old but tough…Like me." Oscar chucked. "I remember when my dad bought it. It's what I taught your mother and uncle in as well. That's why I didn't get rid of it when I got the new one back in '78."

"It was a job alright. My hands were killing me after."

"That's what being a good rancher is about. It makes your hands good and strong. And, just to let you know, you are becoming a very good rancher." Oscar said. "What about Abby; did she have any complaints?" Oscar asked.

"Um, I think she got some dirt under her fingernails." Owen said with a smile. Oscar suppressed a smile of his own as he saw the expression on his grandson's face whenever he so much as talked Abby. In the past year, Oscar had watched the two of them together. He had a very good idea what they did when they were alone. He didn't say anything about it for a few reasons. One, although he'd given Owen a perfunctory (not to mention, very awkward and uncomfortable for the both of them) talk on the facts of life the previous spring; he didn't want to pry into the details of Owen and Abby's relationship. Two, Oscar was clearly aware of the depth of the feelings the two held for each other. It was painfully clear just by watching the two of them interact that the love they shared was genuine and fathomless. And finally, there was the reality of the situation. Even though Oscar still had occasional moments where he had to be sure he wasn't dreaming, he couldn't dismiss the reality that Abby was a vampire. She took shelter during the hours of day, she had superhuman abilities and when she did take her meal with them at the table, it was the contents of an IV bag warmed and poured into a mug. When he took that into consideration, whether or not Abby and his grandson were intimate was really not a major thing. (Of course, if Abby has NOT been a vampire, Oscar would have been FAR more concerned…and strict. But, then again, if she hadn't been a vampire, she and Owen would probably have never wound up here in the first place.)

"I really should sit down some day, in the office, and work out how much money you two have saved me. I haven't had to hire out anyone since you got here." Oscar said as he shook some salt onto his food.

"It's our home too now. We're just helping out." Owen said as he took a bite of his meat loaf. "What's in the news today?" He asked after swallowing, nodding towards a copy of _USA Today_ that was on the sideboard.

"Eh, I haven't had a chance to read it through yet. I did see that Gary Hart won in Ohio, Nebraska and Oregon this week." Oscar said, in reference to Democratic primaries.

"Didn't he win Indiana last week too?" Owen asked after taking a drink of milk.

"Yeah, but Mondale is taking all the big eastern states."

"Have you changed your mind about June 9th?" Owen asked, in reference to the Montana primary.

"Nope, I'm still voting for John Glenn."

"I don't think he has a chance at winning the nomination. At least, that's what Abby and I heard David Brinkley say on the news."

"Oh, I know he hasn't a chance. But, I still like Glenn."

"The only Mercury astronaut whose apple-pie image wasn't a lie…At least, that's what the back-cover of _The Right Stuff_ said about him." Owen replied in reference to Tom Wolfe's book about the early days of the American space program. It was a rarity in that it was a serious book that HE had read first, and then encouraged Abby to read –usually it was the other way around. "Oh, I fixed the paddock gate."

"Good work."

"Is there anything big tonight?" Owen asked as he mentally went over some things he thought might need doing.

"Not really. Oh…There's one thing, but it's not big."

"What is it?"

"Do you think you and Abby could move some boxes down to the basement from the attic? There aren't many of them."

"Sure." Owen replied as he and Oscar continued their dinner. He had no idea, what that simple task would result in. "I'll let her know as soon as she's up."

So it was that later, when the last traces of the day's light left the sky, Abby opened her eyes in her room and immediately sensed a wonderfully familiar presence close to her. She looked over to her side and saw Owen sitting cross-legged on the bed, looking at her with a mix of warmth and desire.

"Hey." Owen said with a smile. He was never certain what was appropriate: to bid her good morning or evening…Not that it really mattered, of course.

"Hey." Abby replied with a happy smile and leaned over to kiss Owen.

"Did you sleep better today?" Owen asked as the kiss broke and he savoured the feel of her cool, bare skin close to his.

"I slept much better. I'm still not sure what that was all about yesterday."

"I sure wouldn't know. I'm glad you were able to sleep better today." Owen said as he brushed back a lock of Abby's blonde hair over her ear.

"Maybe I got tired out from moving those rocks last night."

"Yeah, like you would actually get tired from anything. I was the one who was tired at the end."

"Oh? You seemed to have more than enough energy when we got into the shower together afterwards." Abby teased with a seductive smile.

"We could lie down for that." Owen replied in a deadpan voice. Abby giggled in reply. She threw off the covers and got off the bed. She ran her hands through her hair as she walked over the dresser. She saw that Owen had –as he usually did, brought down a bottle of blood –courtesy of the local butcher's shop- for her breakfast. She also noticed Owen's eyes following her as she walked across the room. She turned to him with a smile.

"What?"

"Sorry. I can't help it."

"Can't help what?"

"Watching you."

"Huh?"

"You're just so…beautiful." Owen said softly. Abby smiled demurely at her lover's words.

"It must be the effect you've had on me. I never felt like I was before I met you."

"Well, you were. I always thought you were beautiful."

"Even when you thought I smelled funny?" Abby teased.

"Well, to be honest, I was wondering how you could stand being out in the snow all the time without wearing shoes or socks." Owen said with smile as he walked over to Abby and took her hand in his. He looked up and down at her nude body. He looked over to her bed and then looked back at her with a suggestive expression on his face. Abby giggled as she –effortlessly- deduced what he was thinking.

"Isn't Grandpa upstairs?" She asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Uh, yeah; he's watching the ball game."

"And he knows you came down here."

"Yeah"

"Wouldn't it be a little hard to explain why you'd taken so long down here? Plus, what if he heard us?"

"Oh…I didn't think of that."

"I figured." Abby said with a giggle. "Also, don't we have some work to do tonight?"

"It's not too much, actually. And it's nothing compared to last night. He just wants us to moves some boxes down from the attic to the main cellar."

"Why?"

"I think he wants the attic clear, in case we have to walk around there when we re-shingle the roof this summer."

"That makes sense." Abby replied as she opened a drawer, removed a pair of underwear and pulled them on.

"Yeah" Replied Owen as Abby opened another drawer and looked for a shirt to wear. Owen noticed the various shirts she had neatly folded in her drawer. Some were pink, but the majority were purple –Abby's favourite colour. She pulled a t-shirt out, tugged it down over her head, and then pulled out her hair out from the shirt so it fell loose over her shoulders and back.

"If it's just moving some boxes, we should get that done really fast."

"That's what I was thinking."

"Want to play some _Zaxxon_ afterwards?" Abby asked, referring to their favourite game on the ColecoVision.

"Sure, if Grandpa's done with the game then."

"Don't we also have _The A-Team_ on tape?"

"Yeah, we do. Oh, and it's the season finale too. Murdock gets shot taking a bullet for Hanibal."

"That sounds like a cool one."

"I can't wait. Hey, I just remembered something. Grandpa was watching _St. Elsewhere_ the other night and I recognized the voice of the guy who plays the surgeon with the mustache."

"Where did you recognize him from?"

"_Knight Rider_. He does the voice of KITT."

"No kidding."

"No kidding. So, David Hassellhoff has a real actor on the show after all." Owen said with a smirk, only to find Abby glaring at him as she was holding the bottle with her breakfast.

"Owen. What's my rule for down here?"

"No making fun of David Hassellhoff or John Schneider." Owen dutifully replied.

"That's right." Abby said sweetly as she pulled on her jeans.

"Wouldn't it be cool if David Hassellhoff did a guest part on _The Dukes of Hazzard_? Who'd win in a race, Bo Duke or Michael Knight?"

"Bo's a better driver, but Michael has KITT. Don't make me choose." Abby giggled.

The two walked over to the door, Abby stopped to switch off her reading lamp as she did so. Owen gave a final wistful look at the bed. Abby caught it right away.

"Maybe if we finish early, we can come back down here –or go up to your room- when Grandpa goes to bed." Abby said with a smile.

"That's even better than _Zaxxon_ or _The A-Team_ put together." Owen said. "I can't wait for the weather to warm up and we can go swimming again." One of Owen's favourite memories of the previous summer had been when he and Abby had gone for late night swims at their pond in the woods. He couldn't wait to see Abby's wet hair and skin glisten in the moonlight again. To him, that sight took his breath away.

"We'll be able to go soon enough. I'm glad you like swimming now."

"Yeah; I guess I just needed the right person to swim with. That makes it a lot more fun…and not wearing swimsuits helps too." Owen said as he took Abby's hand and they left for the upstairs of the ranch house.

Forty-five minutes later, Owen and Abby were at the last of the boxes to be moved from the attic into the cellar. They'd carried them all down and were now stacking them in a closet next to the fruit cellar. Abby –who'd taken charge of the stacking- looked over at Owen.

"Owen, hand me that small box. The one marked as 'jewelry'." Owen casually picked up the frayed looking cardboard box and carried it over to his lover. As he handed it over to her, however, something must have jostled within the box. That caused a sharp edge inside to rub against the tape holding the bottom flaps together.

The tape, which was very old and weak, instantly frayed and came apart. The bottom flaps of the box fell open and the contents dropped over Abby's hands to the basement floor. Owen saw it happen and figured it was a mere annoyance as they had to find a new box and repack everything. He changed his mind about that, however, when Abby let out a scream of pain and fell down to her knees on the floor, her hands drooped on the floor.

"Abby! What happened?"

"My hands…I can't move them." Abby said through teeth that were clenched with pain.

"What?"

"Look." Abby grimaced. Owen looked down at Abby's hands. Both of them were on the ground seemingly pinned. However, the only things on top of them that could possibly be holding them down were a pair of finely linked necklaces. The box had a large number of them, and two of them had caught themselves over each of Abby's wrists. As amazing as it seemed, the tiny chains were enough to keep Abby's incalculably strong hands pinned helplessly to the ground. Owen blinked his eyes in amazement. However, when he looked a second time, he could see that Abby's pale skin looked painfully red and angry beneath the chains, as though they were burning her.

"What can I…" Owen started to ask.

"Just please take the chains off, and it'll be alright." Abby said through her clenched teeth. Owen reached down and gently removed each chain. As each chain came off the skin underneath almost instantly healed and reverted back to its normal pale, unmarked appearance. Owen stared at the chains in amazement. To his skin, they felt normal. They were cool to his touch and weighed perhaps an ounce each. They were normal, silver chains that you could find in any jewelry box. Wait, he thought to himself: silver?

"The chains were silver, Owen." Abby sighed, rubbing her wrists slightly, as she deduced what he had to be thinking. "That's why I couldn't move."

"What do you mean?"

"Silver is something that can actually hurt me…and others like me."

"Does it burn you?"

"Yes and no. It burns when it's placed on our skin. It's painful, but it can't do any permanent harm, at least not that I've ever seen."

"And you couldn't get them off yourself?"

"No, I couldn't. No vampire can. The slightest silver thing can pin us down totally."

"It's almost like…kryptonite to you then?" Owen said. Abby paused and then smiled a little at his words.

"Yeah, when I think about it; that's actually a really good comparison."

"And, all vampires are affected by it?"

"All vampires are affected by it. It doesn't matter. Do you remember how I told you, on Christmas Eve, that crucifixes don't affect me…but some vampires ARE affected by them?"

"I remember."

"Well, silver is something that affects ALL of us. It doesn't matter."

"But…why?" Owen asked. Abby shook her head sadly.

"I don't know, Owen. It's like what happens when I cross a threshold without an invitation from someone who lives there. I don't know why it's like that…I just know it is. Well, I have heard folklore that says it's based on scripture."

"Huh?"

"When Judas Iscariot betrayed Christ, he was rewarded with thirty pieces of silver. Some folk references say that's the basis of silver's protective properties against vampires and werewolves. Whether that's the actual reason, I don't know."

"Abby…How come you never told me about this before?" Owen asked as he thought back and realized that in all the time they'd lived there, Abby had never touched anything silver. Not the heavy silver candlesticks in the dining room. Not the silver cutlery (the good silverware kept in the dining room, versus the regular flatware in the kitchen which Owen and Oscar used for most of their meals). Not even any silver coins.

"I'm sorry Owen. I really never thought about it too much. If you'd asked me, I'd have told you. I didn't offer the information myself because, I guess, I've been in the habit for so long of not revealing my weaknesses that it's really hard for me to change all that so suddenly. Please don't forget, that I've lived like *this* for a year and two months." Abby said as she gestured towards the old fridge in the corner that held her blood supplies. "I had two hundred and twenty years of living the other way. Some of my habits –like guarding my weaknesses- I'm having a hard time breaking. I hope you know I didn't try to deliberately mislead you."

"I know. I guess I'd have not wanted to tell people about that either, if I were you." Owen said with a smile. He went to a shelf and found an empty cardboard box. He picked up all the silver jewelry –and there was a surprisingly large amount- and put it in the new box. He then found a red magic marker and drew large "x" signs on all sides of the box. "There…That should do it."

"Thanks Owen." Abby said with a smile as she gave him a quick kiss.

"So you can't even handle silver coins?"

"Not easily."

"Back when silver coins were used more to pay for stuff, what did you do?"

"Well, sometimes I had my…caretakers…handle the shopping. Of course, girls used to wear gloves a lot back in the old days. If I wore gloves, they let me handle silver coins alright."

"Abby…Do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Sure"

"What else can affect you?"

"Well…." Abby started when their conversation was interrupted by a call from Oscar upstairs.

"Owen! Abby! Come up here! I need you to see something right away!" Owen put the red-marked box on a shelf, still open, and the two bounded up the cellar steps together. On the main floor, they found a worried looking Oscar, holding a copy of the newspaper.

"What's wrong Grandpa?"

"This" Oscar replied as he held out his copy of _USA Today _for his grandchildren to see. The two looked at the headline in the national section and their eyes bulged.

The headline read "New Murders in Los Alamos Building Linked to '83 Cult Murders". Underneath was a photograph of Owen's old apartment complex. The two of them sat down at the kitchen table and read the story. A young married couple, who had moved into the building the previous summer, had been found murdered in their apartment. The bodies had been discovered by a deliveryman for a local Chinese food restaurant. He'd brought their order, found the door ajar with minute traces of blood on it. He'd looked in and then ran to a payphone by the parking lot to call police.

The article went on to say that the apartment in question had been linked to a series of unsolved cult murders the previous winter. The previous tenant –who'd rented the place under a name that turned out to be false- had been a prime suspect in a similar string of crimes. Two previous tenants of the building had been attacked then, one had been killed outright and his body found in a nearby pond, the other had survived the initial attack only to die in a mysterious hospital fire. To stretch the coincidences even more, the very apartment that this new crime had taken place in had been determined to the primary crime scene in the still unsolved murder of a Los Alamos police detective who'd been investigating the aforementioned crimes. Furthermore, it was next door to the former apartment of the one student yet unaccounted for in the infamous Pool Massacre. Owen's breath caught in his throat as his name was mentioned in passing in the article. It went on to mention that his mother had moved from the complex the previous summer, upon reconciling with her estranged husband.

And then there was the final part that shook Abby even more than the fact that her old apartment had been the scene of yet another grisly murder. An anonymous police source was quoted as saying that he'd never seen a crime like that in fifteen years of service. The victims had both suffered neck injuries…but considering the nature of the crime, there was amazingly little blood found at the scene. There was speculation again about the cult angle due to the seeming disappearance of blood from the scene. Police refused to speculate as to the cause. And there was also a rumour that the female victim had been injured on the shoulder as well. Abby's hands clenched as she read this last part. She looked over to Owen.

"Abby…"

"It was a vampire, Owen." Abby said with a cold certainty.

"How can you be sure?"

"I just know. The throat injuries…the lack of blood…It all fits. It all fits." She said sadly.

"What all fits?"

"My dream Owen; I don't think it was a coincidence."

"What're you talking about?"

"I think this vampire is following me."

"How do you know?"

"Your old building…MY old apartment…Another vampire comes there after just over a year. That can't be a coincidence. That's longer odds than winning a lottery jackpot twice."

"Well, ok. I'll agree on that, IF it was another vampire. But you still can't be sure about it. I mean, you said it yourself how long the odds were against that."

"Yeah Owen, I'd agree with you, except for one thing."

"What?"

"The shoulder wound the woman had."

"What does that have to do with it?"

"That dream I had. You saw it. And you saw where I was attacked."

"You were attacked on your…shoulder." Owen said breathlessly as it fell into place for him as well. "Why would this vampire attack the woman on the shoulder?"

"I think…" Abby said with a voice that was starting to tremble with fear "That he was a sending a message…to me."

"What?"

"I think I know who this was Owen. This was the vampire that attacked and turned me. His name was Jebediah Marshall…my uncle." Abby said as Owen's eyes went wide with this news.

Ten miles away, in the town of Cold Creek, an attractive woman in her late fifties emerged from the local Lions Club hall and walked to her car in the early evening darkness. Sally Lawton had been working, with her husband at setting up the hall for upcoming Homecoming Weekend dinner. She wondered if their old friend and neighbour Oscar Lindquist would attend. For the last year, or so, he'd been acting quite different…not in a bad way though. He seemed far happier and livelier than she or Joe had seen him in years…not since long before Lina had died.

Her thoughts were disrupted as she was startled by a voice from the shadows.

"Excuse me, madam." The voice called and the shadow seemed to move and take a form. It took the form of a distinctive looking man in his late thirties or early forties. He was pale, with a hooked nose and truly piercing looking eyes. He was dressed in a dark suit and had numerous rings on his fingers. Despite his…unsettling…appearance he had a courtly voice that spoke in a rich southern accent. To Sally, it was how she imagined Robert E. Lee's voice would sound when she read Michael Shaara's Pulitzer Prize winning novel about Gettysburg, _The Killer Angels_.

"Yes?" Sally replied as some instinct for danger caused her spine to tingle. "Can I help you?"

"Why, perhaps you may madam. I am looking for my niece."

"Your niece, you said? Does she live around here?"

"I suspect she does. Why she's a pretty little thing: twelve years old, going on for thirteen, blonde hair, and she enjoys puzzles, as I recall correctly. And did I mention that she was pretty? Oh my word, yes indeed; she is a beauty. Why, she has the most delectable face in all of the great Commonwealth of Virginia and a body that would make a man give thanks for being a man." This stranger said with a smile that revealed teeth that were quite white and sharp…especially the canines.

This man's disturbing description of his niece's beauty had definitely disturbed Sally. She took a step backwards, planning on running back to the hall and from there to call the sheriff about this strange –and scary- man…If his niece was indeed around here, Sally suspected she did not want a visit from this uncle.

"Well I'm afraid I don't know a girl like you described. I'm afraid I'm not able to be of help to you."

"Oh, my dear lady, that's where you are quite wrong. You already are a help." Jebediah Marshall said as his eyes turned yellow. Sally Lawton didn't have time to even scream once before those sharp teeth sank into her neck….followed by her shoulder.


	3. Chapter 3

_Greetings dear readers. Sorry for the length of time between updates._

_This chapter was a bear to write. It just didn't seem to want to get written. For some reason, I hard a much harder time getting the creative juices flowing here. Perhaps it's because this is more of a bridging/exposition chapter than anything else._

_I had actually started to write an extended flashback sequence, but it just wasn't working -mainly because I couldn't come up with a realistic reason for Abby to undertake a certain -and, in the context of the story- highly illogical action. So, I deleted the entire flashback sequence and replaced it with a description. I hope nobody is too disappointed._

_I also would up -without even intially planning to do so- having Abby go into her reasons for having human guardians and connecting it, somewhat, to what happened to her. I hope some of you can find that interesting._

_So, overall I don't think this is the best chapter I've ever written, but I hope everyone will be able to put up with it. I've always known how I've wanted this fic to end, but setting up that ending is proving to be a challenge. _

_At any rate, as you all know by know reviews are my addiction. I've escaped from Sobriety Lodge, so I need my addiction fed. Please review. :-D_

_By the way, can any horror fans identify where I got the names of a small town cop named Gillespie and a doctor named Cody from? ;-)_

_And awayyyyy we go._

* * *

><p>"Your uncle?" Owen gasped in shock at Abby's revelation.<p>

"Yes." Abby replied in voice thick with worry.

"How could your own uncle attack you?" Owen asked. He felt rather stupid for asking the question like that. However, his mind was reeling from the implication that Abby's own flesh and blood relative had consigned her to this vampiric existence.

"I don't think that was what he was planning to do."

"What was he planning then?" Owen asked. Abby turned to him and their eyes locked. Owen thought back to the image he'd seen in her memories; Abby defenseless in bed…her uncle approaching and forcing himself on top of her. Without a word, the implications dawned on him. "Oh." He just said simply, mentally cursing himself for not coming up with anything better to say.

"Owen, I can guess what you're thinking now. How could he do that to his niece? Well, if you knew him. You'd know that it wasn't a hard thing for him to do. He was a very cruel man. He was cruel in his human life. And after he was turned, he became even worse."

"Well, how was he turned?"

"That I don't know. He had…"

Abby's words were interrupted by the ringing of the phone. Oscar –who'd been listening to what Abby had told Owen, while he was watching the ballgame, got up to answer it.

"Hello…Who's that?….Slow down, I can't understand you….Oh, hi Bill…..WHAT?...When did that happen?...Is she alright? Oh God. What exactly happened?...Right….Where did they take her again? Ok. I'll be in about twenty minutes, or so." Oscar said in a tense voice as he hung up the receiver. He looked and saw his grandson and surrogate granddaughter looking at him questioningly. He sighed heavily.

"What's wrong, Grandpa?" Owen asked. From what he and Abby had heard of Oscar's end of the conversation it wasn't anything good.

"That was Bill Gillespie, the police chief in Cold Creek. Sally Lawton, Joe's wife, was attacked outside the Lion's Club."

"How?" Abby asked in a choked voice.

"They don't know. She went out to get something from the car. When she didn't come back, somebody went out to look. They found her in the parking lot. Bill said that it looked like some animal had set on her."

"Is she alright?" Owen asked.

"No. She's dead." His grandfather declared, wiping his eyes as he recalled the many acts of kindness he'd received from Sally over the years. "They took her to the local clinic there in town. I guess they thought there was a chance to save her. But, Doctor Cody declared her gone as soon as he examined her." Oscar said sadly as he gathered up his keys and wallet. "I'm going there now. Joe is in damn near in shock and his kids and family can't get here for at least a day or so." Oscar sighed as he kicked off his slippers by the door and laced up his boots.

"Grandpa?" Abby said hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"Be…careful."

Oscar smiled briefly and nodded at his surrogate granddaughter. "I'll call as soon as I know anything. Same as always; I'll let it ring twice, hang up and then I'll call again so you'll know it's me."

"Ok. We'll be here." Owen said.

"I'm not sure when I'll be back. I may stay over at Joe's tonight." Oscar said as he nodded his farewell and hurried out the door. A moment later, Owen and Abby heard the motor of his pickup truck roar to life and pull away down the driveway.

The two lovers looked at one another. There was a unfamiliar air of tension that hung like a miasma. Usually, Oscar going out and them having the place to themselves was a fun thing. They would play some video games, or watch television together…Before inevitably, they would go upstairs to Owen's bedroom and make love. Tonight however, neither was thinking of anything of the sort. Their minds were on the revelation from Abby's past.

"Abby…How do you know it's your uncle?"

"It's places where I've been; my old apartment, your secret room in the basement. That can't be a coincidence!"

"But how could he be following you after more than a year."

"He turned me. He was my…sire. That's what he'd be called among us; or maker."

"That means he can follow you?"

"Yes. There's a strong mental connection between a vampire and sire. I guess you could say it's psychic. It's like…It's like a scent in the wind. You can trace it if you focus enough even after a long time."

"How do you know?" Owen asked even though he had an idea.

"I've turned a few vampires. It was never intentional. It was when I'd been recently turned myself and I didn't know to snap their necks to save them from being turned. Or, sometimes –more recently- it was if I was interrupted and couldn't do it. I could sense them through the bond. If I wanted to I could follow them."

"Are any of them still…" Owen trailed off his question.

"No. None of them are still alive –for lack of a better word. I also sensed when they were destroyed. I didn't feel pain, or know exactly what had happened, but I knew that they'd been killed one way or another. One of them, about thirty years ago, I actually had to kill myself."

"But, why would your uncle be trying to follow you; especially now, after all this time?"

Abby shook her head sadly. "I think I know. He wants me. I have no idea why he waited this long. I haven't seen him since…that night."

Owen's mind was racing. He was horrified at the idea of this…monster, coming for Abby; his Abby. He wondered what they could do. All Owen knew was that he would do whatever he could to protect her. He would do his utmost to keep her safe, no matter the cost. But still, he was trying to imagine what had happened in Virginia two centuries before. What sort of man would prey on his own niece like that? "Abby" he began; "your uncle…"

"I can show you Owen, like I did before. It won't be easy, but I can show you." Abby said softly as she caressed his cheek with her hand.

"Yes…I want to see it. I need to see it." Owen said as he took a breath to prepare himself.

"Alright" Abby replied as she concentrated on her memories. He's so brave, she thought to himself. She knew Owen had always doubted his courage back when he was being assaulted at his school. Once, he'd confided to her, he'd even wet himself when he was being attacked. He felt a shame that was almost emasculating. To Abby, though, Owen was perhaps the bravest person she'd even known. Right after finding out what she was, he'd gone right up to her apartment door, knocked on it and confronted her. Abby had known grown men, armed, who would not have approached a vampire's lair like that. And now, he was willing to share in her own trauma for her. "Just relax, and be me again." She leaned over and their lips met. (She had not done this the first time because her face was covered in her own blood then and she couldn't risk infecting Owen with her condition. But now, Owen was her lover in all aspects of the word. It was only appropriate she shared the memory this way.)

Imaged from the past swirled and coalesced in Owen's mind. He saw…images of Abby as a happy, carefree girl, playing in the sunshine of her family's Virginia plantation. He saw after darkness fell, the ominous figure of her uncle come by the house and stare at Abby with lustful eyes. He saw Abby coerced into having to pass the night in her uncle's house, well away from the main house on the vast plantation. He saw the attack again and then afterwards….Abby stumbling back to her home. Her father seemed to mouth the words that he was sorry…before firing a musket at her. And then the silent screams of her mother as Abby stood up again after being shot, spitting the musket ball from her mouth. That was when Abby broke the kiss and pulled away.

"Abby…"

"I'm sorry Owen. I can't do any more of it. I just can't." Abby said with a restrained sob.

"It's alright." Owen replied as he embraced her and held her tightly.

"I can tell you what happened though. I fled into the woods. I didn't know what had happened. Was I dead? Was I dreaming? That was when I encountered him. But his face…It was, well, like my face can get, only so much worse. I had no idea what he was. I thought I had to be having a nightmare and that any second I would wake up in my own bed again, safe and sound."

"You really didn't know what he was?"

"I know it sounds funny, but tales of monsters really weren't told among the class of people I came from. There were vampire legends back then amongst people who'd come from Europe –especially newcomers from Eastern Europe. But the aristocracy of Virginia rather held the view that reading of folktales and superstitions was vulgar and wouldn't teach it to their children. And vampires weren't the subject of novels and plays until the early 19th Century."

"Oh, I get it." Owen said, feeling foolish; he'd realized what Abby was simply because he'd watched horror movies. It had never dawned on him that Abby had never been exposed to the idea of vampire stories being entertainment.

"It is funny, you know." Abby said, as if she'd read his thoughts. "I never even heard the word vampire mentioned until I'd already become one. Jebediah told me what he was and what I now was too. I think that he would've tried to finish what he started before, but the sounds of a hunting party –looking for both of us, I guess- stopped him. I ran. Luckily, a bad thunderstorm broke just then. It let me get away from him. He'd only been a vampire himself for a few months then and I guess he hadn't fully learned to use all of his new senses yet, so I was able to get away in the storm since it helped cover my scent."

"How was he turned?"

"I don't know. I remember that about three months before, he'd gone away on a trip. He was away for over a month. I overheard some of the servants whispering that he'd gone down to New Orleans and began experimenting with the black arts. Someone said he'd gone up north, to New York to meet with some nobleman from Eastern Europe he'd been corresponding with, and who'd now arrived in the American colonies. I don't know. All I know is that when he got back, he'd gone from simply cruel to cruel and strange. He didn't seem to eat any longer. He only visited after dark. Some of the servants were terrified of him. Some left. Others refused to even look at his house, even in daylight."

"Did they know?"

"I don't think so; at least not before he attacked me. A few of them, who were brave enough to come close to his house at night, must have heard me screaming and come to investigate. I think he heard them coming and was enraged at being interrupted. He must have tried to attack them too. I remember I heard sounds of something like that from outside. I guess I was lucky then. I'm sure he would have tried to complete what he started. While he went after them, I was able to recover enough to get out of there."

"What happened then?"

"Well, I told you that I crept back the next night and found that the house was draped in black, with the story being told I had died of a fever?"

"Yes."

"Well, my father had my uncle's dwelling burned down. I guess the story was that he'd died that way, so nobody would wonder what had happened to him. That was the only place he could have sheltered in on the plantation, since after that night he wouldn't have been invited in anywhere else."

"Did your uncle ever try to find you after that?"

"No. It was something I was afraid of for a long time though. I remember nights looking around, expecting to see that face looming at me out of the darkness again. I prayed that if there was one thing I could be granted, it would be that he'd be careless about the sunrise, or maybe run into some people that knew of vampires and decided to play Van Helsing on him with a wooden stake." Abby said with a sad chuckle.

"How long did you worry about it?"

"I worried about him for a long time. It was why I first found myself a human protector."

"That was why?"

"Yeah, that was the reason. It was around, oh 1800, I think it was. I remember people talking if Thomas Jefferson would be able to defeat John Adams in the election that year." Owen listened intently, once again finding it hard to remember just how much of America's history that Abby had witnessed with her own eyes. "Well, one night I found myself in a small town in Pennsylvania. I saw that they had a scaffold built to hang someone. From what I overheard, a man had been killed in a drunken fight. The person who did it was in the jail, waiting to be hanged. He'd claimed it was an accident but had been sentenced to the gallows anyway. I went to the jail. He was a very tough looking man, but he was clearly terrified of the idea of going to the gallows. He saw me at his cell window. I said that I'd get him out if he would come with me and help me. He agreed. And, so I executed my first –and only- jail break."

"Wasn't it hard?" Owen asked incredulously. Abby actually giggled at his question.

"Oh please. It was incredibly easy. Back then, in those small towns, most buildings were made of wood…including the jails. I just ripped out the wall, grabbed Isaac –that was his name- and flew off."

"And Isaac was like…Thomas?"

"No. He was nothing like Thomas. Thomas had been a sweet and caring person –especially when he was younger. Isaac, I learned, had most probably deserved to be where I found him. He was a rough and violent man. He liked to drink, as well. That made him even more violent."

"How could you put up with him?"

"Simple; I was still terrified of Jebediah. I thought that if Isaac could somehow buy me even a few more seconds if Jebediah found me, I could do something to save myself, and it would be worth it." Abby sighed at the memories. "I'm not proud of the things I've done to survive, Owen. I've treated a lot of people's lives as disposable if it was needed. I mean, I'm still sorry beyond words over what happened to Thomas. Isaac, however…."

"Did he do what Thomas did for you?"

"You mean: did he get blood for me?"

"Yeah"

"Actually, no he didn't. Thomas was actually the first helper I had who did that. It was actually his idea."

"It was?"

"Yeah, it was. Back in 1952, there was a near disaster down in Florida when I wasn't able to finish someone off after I fed. The man was turned and went on a spree. I had to hunt him down and stake him. Then, I actually had to burn down the town's morgue to destroy the bodies of his victims –I made sure everyone living got out safely though- before they could rise themselves."

"They didn't, well, turn right away?" Owen asked curiously. From what he'd understood, when Abby bit someone the process was complete within a matter of a few hours.

"When someone is drained completely –or to a point where they're declared dead- it takes a little while longer for them to rise again; usually two or three days. So, I knew I had to destroy the bodies before they could rise again as vampires. As I saw it, I was doing all of them a favour. Well, after that, Thomas came up with the idea of him gathering blood. He said that it would prevent anyone being turned. After what happened, I was so shaken up I agreed."

"I understand. But, you were saying about Isaac…"

"Yes. Isaac was, simply a brute. He was a brute when sober and was worse when he was drunk. Once, when he was drinking, he thought he'd like him and I to be, um, more than friends."

"What did you do?" Owen asked, although he had a decent idea of how that had gone down.

"Let's just say I set him straight very quickly…and it was only a month and half until he could use his arm again and walk without a limp."

"What happened to him?"

"You might say his circle was completed. One night, in 1815, he picked another fight in a tavern –this was in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Only this time he was the one who wound up dead. I'm glad to say that the man who killed him was found not guilty by a jury afterwards."

"Did you find someone else then?"

"No. Not for a long while. After Isaac, I realized that I couldn't do foolish things like that –breaking a killer out of jail, trusting a violent drunkard with my security during the day- just because of Jebediah. I decided that it had been over sixty years, there'd been no sign of him and I wasn't going to let fear cause me to make foolish mistakes any longer. I didn't take on another daytime guardian for about fifty more years. That was Samuel. He was a veteran of the Civil War. He was different from Isaac. He could be violent if he was provoked or antagonized. But, if he was left alone, he was actually very peaceful and calm. He was, I think, never able to get over his experiences in the war. It's what caused him to be violent like that. And, I think that's part of what made him want to come with me. His wife and daughter, he told me, had died of cholera right before the war ended. He told me that he'd seen so much death over four years and then he came home only to find that his wife and little girl had died also. He said to me, more than once, that I reminded him of his daughter. He said that being with me made him miss her a little less. I think that's why he went with me: I took the place of his daughter and he knew he would never have to see me die. He stayed with me for the rest of his life and he took good care of me. When he died, I took his body back to his hometown and had him buried with his family. It was the least I could do for him." Abby said.

"Why'd you decide to do that? Take on this Samuel guy, I mean."

"I was still living mainly in big towns and cities in the east at that time. They were getting bigger and bigger with more people living there. I didn't feel safe anymore during the day. There was too big a risk of someone finding where I was when I was sleeping. That's why I thought I should have someone watching me during the day."

"I guess if we hadn't come here to live, I'd have to keep on the lookout during the day as well, wouldn't I?"

"No, Owen. Samuel and anyone who came after were just there. They were useful. I became friends with them. But…They were never anyone I felt like I belonged with. They were never anyone I could see having a home with." She caressed Owen's cheek lightly with her hand. "They were never anyone I'd have ever thought of being intimate with. They were never anyone I thought I could share my life –and I wouldn't even have called it a life before I met you- with. Don't compare yourselves to them Owen. Not ever. You mean more to me than all of them put together. I'm sure that even if we couldn't have come here, we would have found a way to be happy together. Not that I'm not grateful we're here though, of course."

Owen put his own hand over Abby's and squeezed it gently. "So, what are we going to do now? If you think he's looking for you, I mean."

"I'm not sure. He'd have the same strengths and vulnerabilities I have. He's strong…but not invulnerable. We just have to think of something."

* * *

><p>Oscar drove his pickup truck through the streets of Cold Creek. The town normally quiet and buttoned up on a weeknight in May, was unusually active. He drove past the Lion's Club building. Patrol cars from the local police were on the scene with their lights flashing. He also saw cars from the Missoula County Sheriff's Department –which generally dealt with the serious crimes within the County- parked at the scene also. He sighed sadly and drove on to the local clinic.<p>

The clinic was a small, one story structure. It generally served minor medical cases in the surrounding area, as well as providing initial care to anything serious –injuries on the ranches and farms, traffic accidents, etc- until they could be sent to St. Patrick's Hospital in Missoula or St. Peter's Hospital in Helena. Oscar saw Bill Gillespie's car and parked near it.

Oscar entered the clinic and looked about. He disliked hospitals. He always had. In the last few years, all he could think of, when he entered a hospital was the last time he had seen Elina alive. He sighed again. He wished she was still with him. She'd have dearly loved to have seen Owen again. And, Oscar was certain she'd have adored Abby as much as he did. He felt even sadder now. Joe and Sally Lawton had been about his main lifeline and support system in the years between the death of his wife and the arrival of Owen and Abby. Now, Sally was gone and Joe would be in need of his help and support.

He saw Joe and Bill Gillespie exiting a room. Joe looked as bad as he'd figured he would. He could see he was still in a state of shock. It reminded Oscar of some battle fatigue cases he'd seen come off the front lines of Normandy in 1944. Joe looked up and saw him.

"Oscar." He mumbled weakly but with gratitude at the presence of his oldest friend.

"Joe." Oscar said as he walked up and gripped his friend's shoulder. For men of their generation, hugging wasn't something they really did, so a hand on the shoulder was a vast display of comfort.

"She doesn't look dead. She doesn't. She looks like she's asleep." Joe mumbled. "I've, uh, I've got to go call Patricia out in Astoria and Jimmy in Chicago." He said, referring to his grown children. "Sally and I went to see Jimmy and his family at Easter. Patricia brought her husband and kids here at Christmas. I guess that's good. They all got to see her one last time." Joe rambled.

"Of course it's good Joe." Oscar said. "Do you want me to help you with the calls?"

"No. I'll do it. That's something for me to do alone." Joe said.

"Ok Joe. Doctor Cody said you could use the phone in the lounge. You can just dial out. He said the clinic will pay for the calls." Bill Gillespie said gently pointing towards an open door to a room tha contained chairs, a couch and vending machines.

"Thanks Bill" Joe said and walked into the lounge, shutting the door behind him. Out in the hallway, Gillespie turned to Oscar.

"Glad you were able to make it out here, Oscar." As the two shook hands.

"Hell Bill, you knew I would."

"Yeah, I know."

"What the hell happened, Bill?"

"Oscar, I'll be God-damned if I know. She went out to her car to get something. It couldn't have been more than five minutes, or so, before someone wondered where she was and went out to look. They found her by the car with her throat torn up." Bill Gillespie didn't notice Oscar's eyes going wide as his mental wheels began turning.

"You said her throat?"

"Yeah, and it looks like it took a bite out of her shoulder too. Now what the fuck type of animal does that?"

"I'm not sure" Oscar mumbled, hoping Gillespie wouldn't pick up on his mannerisms. His mind was racing to what he'd overheard Owen and Abby discussing earlier. He'd heard everything Abby had said about her uncle and the recent events in Los Alamos. Now, his instincts were screaming warnings at him.

"Joe's right, you know. Since we brought her in here and got a look at her…she doesn't look dead at all. The nurse had a sheet covering her throat, so Joe couldn't see it, and without the wound being visible, damned if she doesn't look dead at all. She looks like she's ready to open her eyes and walk out of here. Hell. Ten years as chief here and twenty on the Highway Patrol before that, not to mention two years of heavy fighting in Korea before even that, and I've never seen that look on anyone who died that way. It's damned strange. And the blood…"

"What about the blood?"

"That's just it. There was no blood. We simply didn't find any. At least, not what you'd expect after someone gets their jugular bitten open like that. There was barely any on the ground, and the county detectives think that was just a spurt from when the skin was first broken. It wasn't raining so it couldn't have been washed away. It's damned strange. A woman's throat is bitten open and we don't find any blood anywhere." Gillespie went on as Oscar's breath caught in his throat.

"Um, Bill, I'm just going to go hit the men's room. If Joe finishes his calls, tell him I'll be back in five minutes or so."

"Sure thing, pal." Gillespie said as he pulled his battered police notebook, by its chain, from his hip pocket and began to review his notes of the night as Oscar walked down the hall and turned a corner.

As soon as Oscar rounded the corner, he broke into a sprint, screeching to a halt by a payphone. He threw in some change and hurriedly dialed his phone number, hanging up after two rings. Retrieving the change, he dialed again.

* * *

><p>"I've got a plan, Abby." Owen said quietly. It wasn't the most conventional plan. He wasn't sure how Abby would react to it either. But, he thought it would be effective. His plan was for her to turn him into a vampire. As he figured it, that way if and when her uncle found them it would be two vampires against one. Owen thought that together they would be able to handily defeat him.<p>

"What is it Owen?"

"Well, I was thinking…" Owen said. He never got a chance to finish as the phone rang twice then went silent. It then rang again. Owen went over to pick it up.

"Hi Grandpa…What?...She's right here. Ok." Owen gestured for Abby to come over to the phone as he held up the receiver. "He says he has to talk to both of us at the same time. He sounds excited."

"OK, I'm here, Grandpa." Abby said. "What's the matter?"

"Sally Lawton…Her throat was torn out by something!" Oscar's distressed voice could be heard from the receiver. Owen and Abby exchanged a look of equal worry. "There's more. There was no blood found around her body also. And, Bill says that whatever –or whoever- it was bit her shoulder as well! Abby, I heard what you were saying earlier! I think that…" Oscar's voice was cut off suddenly as the line seemed to go dead.

* * *

><p>Oscar let out a vile string of profanities he had not used since his military days as his call was abruptly cut off. Of all the times for the local phone service to act up, he thought venemously. He pressed the receiver's cradle up and down and heard a normal dial tone. Frantically, he grabbed some more coins out of his pocket, fed them into the change slot again and re-dialed his home number. However, instead of the expected ring tone he heard the sirening sound of a line out of service. Oscar felt a cold fear grip his stomach as he realized that the phone line at the ranch had been cut. He dropped the receiver numbly.<p>

"Oh dear God, no." He muttered.

* * *

><p>"Grandpa? GRANDPA!" Owen yelled into the receiver. He pressed down on the phone cradle several times as he and Abby both strained their ears, listening for a dial tone. There was none. Abby looked at Owen and spoke with a cold certainty.<p>

"He's here."


	4. Chapter 4

_Greetings, dear readers. Welcome to Chapter IV. Well, this is the chapter that pretty much all my fics have been leading up. When I first started writing _Let Me In_ fics, I had this final scene in mind._

_I do hope everyone enjoys it. First though, I must say that I had actually planned this chapter to be far, far longer. I had a long scene of conversation between Abby and Oscar planned, as well as showing the final fate of Jebediah. However, due to the simple fact that this was already coming up on seven thousand words, I decided to end it right where it is. The scenes I've just alluded to will be placed at the start of the next chapter then. I sure hope nobody is too disappointed at having to wait. LOL _

_I guess I was really bitten by the inspiration bug today. I was able to write this entire chapter in one evening. (Alright, I started in the evening and pretty much wrote into the night. However, I really wanted to get it up and posted for the weekend._

_I also hope the action scenes flow well in this chapter. It was a challenge to write a credible fight scene were vampires are involved. I think it comes across as credible but I hope the readers agree with me._

_Well, here's the part you're all familiar with. I'm fresh out of Adonis DNA and Tiger Blood. In lieu of those items, please send me reviews. :-D_

_Happy reading everyone._

_And awayyyyy we go. :-)_

* * *

><p>"Grandpa? Grandpa?" Owen yelled into the receiver with frustration. He pressed down on the receiver's cradle several times as he and Abby both strained their ears listening for a dial tone. There was none. Abby looked at Owen and spoke with a cold certainty.<p>

"He's here."

"Jebediah? He's here now?" Owen stammered in a voice he was trying to keep calm. He'd thought they would have time before this happened; time to come up with some sort of workable plan. But, time was now something they did not have. He looked at Abby. Her eyes and body language reflected the worry she was feeling.

"Yes. I can…I can sense him now. And he cut the phone line. I guess he wants us to know that we're in 'check'."

"We have to think of something, Abby."

"I know, Owen. But what can we do?"

The two looked at each other as their minds raced over their options.

* * *

><p>Ten miles away, at the Cold Creek medical clinic, Oscar stared at the payphone receiver, that now swung listlessly by its cord, with mute hatred that concealed his anger and fear. It was all happening so fast. When he'd come to town he'd thought Sally had actually been attacked by some sort of animal. It wasn't unheard of for deer, elk or even bears to come into town out of the mountains and woods. When he'd gotten the call, he'd thought it had just been a freak incident.<p>

However, after hearing Bill Gillespie tell him about the wounds on Sally's throat, the lack of blood at the scene and –most tellingly- the seemingly superfluous wound to the shoulder; a feeling of dread had begun to creep through Oscar Alfredson. He instantly recalled what Abby had told his grandson earlier that night, about her vampire uncle who'd attacked and turned her in the 18th Century…and who was now apparently looking for her.

And now, the phone line at the ranch had apparently been cut. Oscar fought down a sick feeling. He was a man for whom war had taught to trust in his instincts. And now, his instincts were telling him that his grandchildren were in danger because that…monster…was at his home now.

Without bothering to hang up the receiver, he turned around and bolted back up the corridor where Bill Gllespie was waiting for Joe Lawton to finish the phone calls telling his grown children about the murder of their mother. Oscar suppressed a sigh of despair. Joe had been his best friend for decades and needed his help. However, Oscar realized that Owen and Abby would likely be in need of his help even more.

"Joe's still on the phone, Oscar." Bill informed him. "His daughter and her family aren't home so Joe's waiting to call again. He didn't want to leave any sort of message on their answering machine."

"I can understand that." Oscar replied in a tight voice. "After he finally reaches her, are you going to take him back to his place?"

"Yeah, that's what I was planning. His car is still being photographed by the detectives from the County Sheriff's Office. Even if it wasn't, I don't think Joe is up to driving himself."

"Yeah, I agree."

"Why'd you ask?"

"Well, I thought I'd come over and stay at Joe's house. At least until his kids can get here."

"That's good of you Oscar."

"It's nothing. But, uh, I need to go back to my place first. I've got to pack an overnight bag, lock up and take care of a few things before I go there."

"Oh, I get you. Sure. I'll take him home and you'll meet us there." Bill Gillespie said with an understanding nod of his head. He was still half-immersed in his notebook and missed the look of relief on Oscar's face.

"That's just what I was thinking." Oscar said, grateful he didn't have to waste time trying to come up with a more elaborate excuse. "I'm going to head on home now and get busy. Can you tell Joe I'll be over to his place as soon as I can?"

"Sure thing, Oscar."

"Thanks Bill." Oscar said as he hurried out the clinic doors. As soon as he was out the doors, he broke into a run, pulling his pickup truck's keys from his pocket. It's ten miles until home, Oscar thought wildly. He'd never tried to ever take his truck up to top speed. But, he was going to give it a try right now. He frantically unlocked the truck and climbed in. He brought the engine to life with a roar. For a second, for some reason, he thought of that show Owen and Abby loved to watch on Friday nights, _The Dukes of Hazzard_. He was now going to see if he could drive like they did on that show, he thought as he peeled out onto the road that led out of town and back to his ranch. He silently prayed that he'd be in time to do…something.

* * *

><p>At ranch, Abby looked up the ceiling and turned her head slowly. It was as if there was something there that only she could see. In a way, that was indeed the case. Her senses were picking up something vague…and indefinable. It was something whispering to her in the back of her mind. It was a voice telling her that a long missing –and definitely unlamented- presence had finally returned. The last time she'd felt it, she recalled, was the night of her own baptism into the vampire life. It had faded from her presence in the storm where she'd escaped Jebediah.<p>

She recalled that vividly now. It was funny. That memory; that sensation had really faded from her mind as the years, decades and centuries had rolled past. Abby guessed that when you had well over two hundred years of memories stored up, some would fade to a point where they could never be retrieved again. She'd have thought that it would have remained as vivid and clear as the knowledge of her own name. Yet, it had faded slowly. It was like the images on an old glass photography plate that had been left out in the sun for a period of years. Maybe it was her mental defenses that had done it, as she might well have gone insane if she'd recalled it with such perfect detail for this long a time.

But now, it came rushing back in like the waves on the ocean she'd seen when her travels had taken her to one of the various sea coasts. That…presence; it had filled her mind as they stood in the woods together beneath the Hickory trees. Her uncle Jebediah, who she'd never felt affection for…but had felt a tremendous amount of fear towards, standing there with that prominent nose and piercing eyes as he told her what she now was. He wanted her to join him and they could spend eternity together as higher beings than the humans he said were simply their herd to feed from. Jebediah explained that he had not planned to bestow the gift of eternal night (the words he had used) upon her…at least not yet. He'd wanted merely to partake of her flesh, not yet of her blood. She was almost of age. Why, soon she would be eligible to be betrothed to any of the planter's sons from along the fine families that made their homes along the James River. Why should her beauty go to waste on them, when it surely should have been reserved for him? He apologized for his haste as he had not planned to preserve her beauty as it was for at least two or three years. He said he wanted her to be with him…in every sense of the word. He reached for her….

Abby still did not know what she would have done if he'd touched her. Her mind was reeling from what he'd told her. She'd rather die than be with him for one day, let alone until the end of all things. Yet, could she even die any longer? Her father had shot her with the musket, yet she still lived. There was even a hole in her dress where the musket ball had struck her breast. She thought that maybe if Jebediah was like her, then perhaps HE could kill her. She resolved to attack him. She would try to kill him. He'd be forced to kill her to save himself. With luck, perhaps they'd both die. She was preparing herself to attack him when Jebediah turned to another direction and snarled. Abby saw, with horror, those sharp teeth that had bitten her…that had made her into this (What did he call it again?) vampire. Did SHE have those same horrid teeth? She felt her teeth with her tongue and realized they now seemed…sharper, especially the canines.

As Abby tried to process this new revelation, she heard it. She heard the sounds of men and dogs, moving through the woods. She could hear them despite being a great distance away. She could hear them…and smell them. The dogs began to bark violently, turning to whines as they realized the prey they were after was a predator the likes of which they had never seen…and didn't wish to. There was a flash a percussion cap exploded in a flintlock, followed by the thunder of the shot as the gunpowder went off. Then, Abby could actually SEE the musket ball leave the barrel of the smooth bore Brown Bess musket and cut through the leaves towards her and Jebediah.

Jebediah snarled again in rage, like an animal forced to turn on its pursuers. Abby saw that his attention was diverted. She turned in the opposite direction and ran. She ran faster than she thought it was possible for any living thing to love. She had no shoes on, but felt no discomfort from branches, or stones or pine needles as she practically soared over the forest floor (It would be a while -many years actually- before she realized she had the power to actually fly.) in her bare feet and white dress which was being reduced to tatters by the branches she plowed through. In her mind was only one thought: to flee from Jebediah. She strained with her ears to see if she could pick up the sound of him pursuing her. She heard nothing like that. She did hear the sounds of carnage as a few of the hunting party had obviously tried to fight him. She wondered when he'd try to pick up her scent –as she could smell the woods and the animals so thoroughly now, she had no doubt he'd be able to smell her, or hear her. She could still smell him and it urged her to run even faster. That was when a new sound reached her ears…the crack of true thunder that had closely followed a bolt of lightning. As she processed this, the clouds opened and a deluge of rain began to fall on the Virginia forest. Abby had heard her brother George tell her that he couldn't go hunting when it rained because the hounds lost the scent. This gave her new impetus and she ran harder, realizing it was her chance to get away. She ran through glades and woods, even splashing through a lake once. As she ran, she realized that she could no longer smell Jebediah any longer. And, that strange…feeling…in her mind had also faded away.

She kept running through the rain for hours. Eventually, Abby noticed that the sky to the east was starting to brighten with the coming of dawn. Something inside of her screamed a warning. It told her that the sunlight would hurt her. Fighting off another voice that wanted her to remain out in the open, to let the sunlight do what it would, to end this horrid new existence before it could even begin, Abby scrambled into a cave and burrowed into the back where she knew the sunlight would never reach. She sank down to the cold dark cave floor. She was soaking wet, her clothes were torn and filthy and her bare feet caked with mud. As the sun rose, she felt an overwhelming exhaustion fill her being. She sank down to the cave floor, as the urge to sleep was simply too difficult to resist. Her last three thoughts before her very first daytime sleep began was to wonder why this had happened to her; a devout prayer that she would never be in the presence of her uncle, Jebediah Marshall, ever again; and an awareness of the hunger she was starting to feel.

A voice seemed to call out to her. "Abby?" She shook her head to clear it. She suddenly realized where she was again and with whom.

"Sorry." She said simply.

"Are you alright?" Owen asked tensely.

"Yeah"

"What happened?"

"I just…I was just thinking of when I last saw him. I can feel him nearby, Owen. I can feel him!" Abby said through gritted teeth.

"It's alright, Abby." Owen said softly as he put his arms around her.

"You don't know what he's like Owen. You don't know what he's capable of doing."

"No. But, you said that he has the same weaknesses you have. Isn't that right?"

"Yes. That's right."

"Good." Owen said simply

"What do you mean?" Abby asked him.

"I've got a plan, I think." Owen stated.

"No, Owen; it's too dangerous! It's me that he wants."

"Well…He'll have to get through me then." Owen said with a quiet determination.

Abby shook her head vigorously. "No! Absolutely not! I'll go outside and lure him away from here. You'll be safe in here since he doesn't have an invitation to enter."

"And then what?"

"I'll just lead him away. I think he'll be so fixated on me, he might forget about the sunlight in the morning." Abby said softly. Owen's eyes went wide as she said that and he grasped its implications.

"NO! What would you do then when the sun comes up?"

Abby smiled at him and touched his cheek with her hand. "It'll be fitting. He made me like this. It's because of him that I've done all those things I've had to over the years. Maybe this is what I have to do to end it and perhaps make up for it all."

Owen grabbed her hand in a grip that surprised her with its strength. "You can't! You're not like him. You didn't choose to do any of those things. There's nothing you have to make up for. You said he can't come in! Why do you even have to go out then? At sunrise, he won't have any place to go even if you don't go out to lead him away."

"I'm sure he'd find a place. Vampires don't live this long if we're not good at that. I've got to distract him. It's the only way. It has to end with him…tonight." Abby said sadly. She knew it would mean her likely end. But, she thought it would be worth it if she could finish Jebediah off. At least, she'd had these fourteen months of being truly happy for the first time since she was turned. She'd gotten to feel human again. She'd had a surrogate grandfather she couldn't have loved more than if he was her own flesh and blood. And, she'd had Owen. He'd made her feel like the person she once was again. He'd allowed her to be truly happy. At least she had that.

"Abby! What's to say that he wouldn't try and get in here anyways? If he can track you, he might just wait and do something if he knows this is where your family is? He might just destroy the house so he wouldn't need to have an invitation to cross the threshold. Did you think of that? What if he waits for when Grandpa comes home? If you're not around, then what would happen?" Owen pleaded. He saw from Abby's face that he was starting to get through to her. "Remember in Los Alamos, when you said that I should hit back against Kenny and his buddies? You were right, Abby. They didn't like it when I hit back. They stopped –at least until Kenny's brother showed up. I should've fought back before. Then they'd have known I wasn't just their prey and they'd have stopped bothering me! Abby, your uncle…He's just like them. He's a bully who'll keep on doing this because he thinks you're afraid of him. He won't expect you to hit back. He won't like it. He won't know what to do about it." Owen's heart pounded nervously as he waited for Abby's response.

"How'd you get so wise?" She finally said with a soft smile as she caressed his face with her hand.

"I've been around you for over a year." Owen smiled back as he gave her a quick kiss and took her in his arms.

"So, what's your plan?" Abby asked him. Owen took a breath as he collected his thoughts.

"It's not going to be easy, but I think it's our best chance."

"What is it?"

"Well, remember what you said before about him not having an invitation to come in?"

"Yeah"

"We have that. And, we have that box downstairs…." Owen said as he began to outline his plan. When he was finished Abby looked at him with concern.

"It'll be dangerous." She said. Abby wasn't thrilled with the plan. It left a lot to chance. But, they really couldn't come up with anything that much better with the time they now had.

"I know. But, I think it's our best chance."

"Yes. I think you're right. How long do you need?"

"Not more than five minutes. Can you hold him off that long?"

"Yeah…That I think I can do."

"Ok. Then we'll do it." Owen said with a nod. Abby started to the door. Then she turned back and looked at Owen. Their eyes met and he pulled her into his arms for a passionate, urgent kiss.

"I love you, Owen. I'll love you forever." Abby said in a voice that quivered with worry.

"I love you too. And don't worry. By morning, it'll all be over." Owen said with a confidence that he wished he felt. In truth, he was just as scared, and hoped that 'it'll all be over' would be in a good context. He thought, for some reason, of Indiana Jones' like from _Raiders of the Lost Ark_, where Indy told Sallah and Marion that he was 'making it up' as he would go. He rather thought Abby wouldn't take comfort from that. Owen dashed down the steps the basement. He had to that box…as well ammunition for one of Grandpa's rifles.

Abby watched him descend into the basement. She silently prayed that she'd be able to feel him hold her again. She steadied herself, and then marched out the front door.

Outside, the spring night was pleasant and clear. She and Owen had sat by the river on many nights like this. If it wasn't for the ominous presence she could feel, this would be a most enjoyable night for them again as well.

She looked around, trying to spot the presence she could feel in her mind.

"Jebediah!" She called out in a voice that surprised herself with how steady she kept it. "Where are you? I know you're here! You haven't come all this way after all this time just to skulk in the shadows have you?"

One of the shadows seemed to move in an unearthly way. Abby watched as it took shape and emerged into the light coming from the ranch house. Abby stared at her uncle. When she'd last seen him, he'd had a strange cloak on and was dressed –naturally- in the style of an 18th Century Virginia aristrocrat. Now, however, he was dressed in a dark suit complete with a white shirt and impeccably knotted, wine coloured tie. His dark hair was swept back over his brow. The long, aquiline nose was the same as were the burning eyes. His lips seemed quite ruddy in contrast to the pallour of his skin. His hands –that had reached out for her all those years ago- were as she remembered. The fingers were long and elegant. On his left hand, each finger bore at least one ring, gold with a jewel in them. His middle and fourth finger had two on apiece. Abby recognized them. They were rings of her family. Each one was immensely valuable in the 1760's. She couldn't begin to calculate what they'd be worth nowadays. He smiled, showing white teeth.

"Abigail." He said with rich satisfaction in his voice. "It has been far, far too long."

"It's not been nearly long enough for me." Abby replied coldly as she mentally counted off seconds so she'd know when Owen would be ready.

"No feelings at seeing your old Uncle Jebediah again after all these years?" He said with the same serene smile of victory.

"I feel utter revulsion."

"Why Abigail, surely you can't mean that. You know that if it were not for the gift I bestowed upon you, you would have been dead a century and half ago; dust and bones moldering in the family plot behind Marshall Hall. Instead, you have seen two centuries go and come as I have. You'd have become a withered old woman, decrepit, feeble…One of those old women of the South long gone in the head who would care for nothing except drawing out their family trees. But, thanks to me…You're still as young and beautiful as you ever were…and shall ever be."

"A gift?" Abby spat at him with disbelief. "You took my life from me."

"Oh no, my dear; I gave you life…life eternal." Jebediah said as he closed the distance from her in the yard.

"It wasn't any life! It was a nightmare I could never wake up from! It was…blood…fear…death! It was the hunger always being present!"

"You had merely to feed more often. There are so many people in this world to sustain us."

"It was feeding on them and then hating myself for doing so!"

"Hate yourself? Whatever for? You'd feel some remorse for these…lesser beings? They're nothing to us Abigail. They're merely livestock who can walk upon two legs. Bah! A hen walks upon two legs and is about the same worth. Regret for them because they can talk and reason? Their ignorant chatter is no more significant that the tattle of the magpies within the trees! We walk upon this earth and it is our domain. We are the ultimate predators. All other species should recognize us as such and see us as their rulers. Dare I say it, but I believe that there's a very good chance that you and I are the oldest of our kind in this country. That makes us the most powerful. All others of our kind should kneel before us and all these…humans…will be ours to sample!"

"If you want all this, why come after me?"

"Why Abigail, it would have been no enjoyment on my own. How could I be king of our kind, without you by my side as my queen?"

"You're out of your mind, Jebediah." Abby said simply.

"Hardly, my dear niece; I couldn't have tracked you otherwise. I simply could not bear to think of your beauty going to waste any longer." Abby suppressed a shudder and forced herself to smile. It was getting closer to the time. Now, was when she would rile him up.

"Going to waste? Oh, that it hasn't been. I can assure you of that." Her uncle's eyes flared red at that.

"What?" Jebediah snarled.

"What you wanted from me; my beauty, or –I'm sure you were thinking- my virginity? I no longer have it. I gave it to someone freely and gladly. It must burn in you, doesn't it? All your strength and you failed at taking it from me. And in the end, I gladly gave it to someone who's a real man…and not one of 'our kind', but a normal human no less." Abby said tauntingly. She was enjoying the satisfaction of watching her uncle process this knowledge. "I guess he was far more of a man than you could ever be."

Jebediah let out a roar of anger and charged at Abby; his face contorting as his pronounced vampiric features revealed themselves. Abby timed herself, and then sidestepped expertly her own face taking on its vampire visage. With her claws out, she raked them across Jebediah's face, gouging into his skin and flesh, drawing blood. He let out a hurt, angry cry like an animal.

"You'll wish I'd killed you two centuries ago you little bitch!" He screamed in pain.

"I spent a long time doing that already! There's nothing you can do to scare me any longer!" Abby yelled back. He lunged at her again as she took off into the woods. She figured she had less than two more minutes to keep him busy until Owen was ready. She could sense him chasing after her. Abby didn't dare try to fly. Up in the air, in the open sky, she'd be easy prey outlined against the night sky. But, on the ground, she had plenty of cover. There were all the scents of the forests and the various animals in both the forest and the ranches paddocks. (All of which were greatly agitated at Jebediah's presence. Abby had been there so long, and non-threatening that the animals no longer reacted badly around her; Jebediah, though, was a new predator that they feared.) These scents now overwhelmed Jebediah and masked her. Also, this was Abby's home. She and Owen had spent more than a year exploring every part of it together. As a result she knew every inch of the place intimately.

Jebediah lost sight of Abby as she dodged through a clearing behind a barn, after emerging from the woods. He was snarling with rage. He was so overwhelmed with anger, he never thought to take to the sky to try and spot her –something Abby had actually counted on. He saw a large pile of rocks that clearly had been piled there for years. Suddenly he sensed something. He turned, but it was too late. A huge boulder –only a day out of the earth, in fact- came flying at him and knocked him to the ground, pinning him underneath.

That won't hold him long, thought Abby. She saw that he was pushing it off of him, uttering –to her satisfaction- profanities that she thought Virginia gentlemen were not supposed to say. She took off and bolted for the house.

Abby reached the front porch and stopped. She sensed Owen's comforting presence nearby. She only prayed that Jebediah was so angry and worked up that he wouldn't notice Owen. If this failed, she'd go to Plan B. It was a variation on her original intention. She'd get Jebediah to chase her through the night, only she would make for the house at dawn and hope to time it right so that she'd get back just as dawn was breaking and Jebediah would be in the open with no invitation to the only shelter available –or, if he'd gone into the barn or sheds, he'd be easy prey for Owen and Oscar during the daylight. But, she wasn't sure she could evade him that long successfully. This was their best chance to prevail.

"Oh Abigail" Snarled Jebediah as he emerged from the darkness. The claw marks on his face still angry and open. (Of course, they'd heal completely within hours. If Owen's plan worked, Jebediah would be finished by then.) "What disrespect you show for your dear uncle. Allowing yourself to be some…human's…little whore. And look at how you're dressed…like some common farm hand; a girl of your station, wearing those disgusting blue pants." He said as he looked at Abby's well worn blue jeans.

"You never did anything to earn my respect, dear uncle." Abby responded evenly. "And I'm nobody's whore. I am his lover and he is mine." She replied as she gave the unlatched front door a gentle push with her foot, causing it to swing open gently. She subtly stepped away from the door, along the front porch by the living room's bay window. Intent on his showdown with Abby, Jebediah stopped right in front of the open door.

"You're his lover and he is yours." Jebediah mocked savagely as he stood before the open door. His anger was such that he was ignoring the many warnings from his senses. "When do I get to meet this whelp who you allowed to take your purity? Maybe I'll finish him off swiftly. Or, perhaps I'll turn him…eventually. But, I'd have to make sure he'd behave himself with you first. Oh, think of it. He would be at your side through the ages but not able to touch you any longer. Ah yes, I would do to him what you do to a dog to ensure he doesn't chase the bitches around. He'll enter service in my church as choirboy _castratum_! Where IS he?"

"Right here" A new voice spoke from beside him. Jebediah wheeled on instinct. He saw a lanky, muscular youth, who couldn't be more than fourteen, if that, standing in the door. He was holding, a heavy rifle to his shoulder. Before Jebediah could process this new information; Owen calmly fired his grandfather's M1 Garand rifle. The heavy 30.06 caliber bullet struck Jebediah square in the middle of his forehead. Owen watched in amazement. When his grandfather had taught him to shoot the rifle the previous autumn, he'd told Owen about how powerful it was. On the morning of D-Day, he'd picked off a German machine gunner from 400 yards out. Later in the day, during an assault, he'd shot an SS officer at the same range Owen was now from Jebediah. It had taken half the man's head off. But Jebediah…He was still alive and functioning. Of course, Owen hadn't expected it to actually kill him –it would have been a nice bonus if it had, but he didn't expect it to. Instead, Owen had figured that when even a vampire took a heavy bullet into the head like that, even though it wouldn't kill them, it would surely disorient them for a few good seconds. And that's what was now happening. Thus, it was time for the second –and most dangerous part- of the plan.

Owen swiftly re-engaged the Garand's safety and set it down. He pulled a link of silver chain out of his shirt –he'd linked two chains together to make it long enough. He wrapped the ends of each around either of his hands, murmured a quick prayer, and leaped on Jebediah's back, wrapping the silver chain around his unprotected neck.

As he did this, the front porch was illuminated by headlights and the sound of a racing engine met the combatant's ears –although they were all too preoccupied to notice- as Oscar's pick-up truck came screeching into the driveway. The truck came to a halt and Oscar sprung out the door, standing in shock as he saw the fight between his grandchildren and this vicious stranger.

Jebediah, who was still disoriented from the rifle bullet (that was just now, being expelled from his brow) screamed in agony as the silver went around his neck, burning into his skin. With the near mindless gestures of a wounded, angry animal he lashed out with his claws, trying to dislodge his attacker. One of his claws tore viciously into Owen's arm. Owen suppressed a scream of pain, intent on keeping his grip on the chain. He looked at Abby.

"NOW ABBY!" He yelled.

Abby charged at the two of them, her own small frame crashing into Jebediah's larger one as he was still trying to throw Owen off. The momentum carried the three of them back through the door into the house. Jebediah tripped as he came in and sprawled onto the ground, finally dislodging Owen and the hated silver.

Owen rolled free. He was in pain. His left arm had been badly gouged by Jebediah's claws and he thought he'd broken something when they'd hit the floor with Jebediah's full weight on top of him. But, he couldn't stop now. He wrapped the silver chain around his right fist and threw himself at Jebediah. He slammed his fists into vampire's face repeatedly. His right hand, protected by the silver was causing Jebediah to shout in pain from the blows. He tried hitting with his unprotected left hand though and was able to deliver one blow that he was certain broke his knuckles.

Jebediah snarled again and dealt Owen a tremendous backhanded blow. Owen was knocked to the ground, his cheekbone broken. At that instant Abby leapt on her uncle and began to tear at his throat with her claws. The enraged vampire grabbed her and threw her across the room, sending her smashing out through the bay window, onto the porch..

"You'll beg for death long before it comes, boy…" He raged at Owen for a second. He then stopped as he began to tremble. Blood began to pour from his eyes, his nose, his pores; everywhere. The look of horror that spread across his face indicated he'd realized too late what was happening. He'd crossed the threshold of a home without an invitation from the owner. He staggered and turned back towards the door. Owen raised himself off the floor, and saw Jebediah turn. He knew the vampire could not be allowed to get out of the house. If he did, he could get away…and then he and Abby would never be safe.

Owen grabbed the silver chain and jumped at Jebediah, wrapping it around his neck again. Jebediah screamed in pain again, just as Abby picked herself up off the porch and jumped back in through the broken window; and Oscar came in the door, holding a heavy axe from the woodpile (The only weapon he thought might be effective and that he could also get to quickly). For a brief second Abby thought that it was over. Jebediah would bleed out here, or at least until she could break a broom in two and drive it through his heart.

That's when it happened. Jebediah, in apparently his last gasp of strength grabbed Owen by the shirt and lifted him up. Instead of making for the door though and possible safety, he emitted a thundering growl of savage rage and slammed Owen –who looked like it was happening too fast for him to realize what was going on- and slammed him into the fireplace mantle…hard. The impact was so hard, the stone and brick mantle actually shook. There was a sickening, crunching noise and Owen dropped to the floor…not moving.

Abby and Oscar let up matching screams of shock and disbelief. Jebediah sneered at Abby. If he couldn't have her, and couldn't escape himself, he would at least kill her lover. Abby roared in vengeance and launched herself at Jebediah. She grabbed the silver chain, ignoring the burning of her own hands, and tried to wrap it around his neck. She would saw through it if she had to. However, the silver was weakening her attack. Jebediah, meanwhile, was barely standing from the copious blood loss –which was now pooling on the floor. He grabbed Abby by the throat as he sank to his knees. His ring laden left hand wrapped around her throat…And then, suddenly, the hand was still around her throat but it wasn't attached to his arm any longer. At the end of his arm was a stump. The vampire looked to his side, a befuddled look of shock on his face as he saw Oscar holding his bloodied axe, his face a mask of rage.

Before he could do or say anything, a blue light filled the room. Oscar's hand had gone to his pocket and removed something…It was a small cross that had been Elina's. He'd taken it home with her personal effects from the hospital when she died and for some reason had never removed it from his glove compartment. Perhaps this was why. Now, the simply crucifix glowed blue and Jebediah screamed again. It thrummed with energy that went right up Oscar's arm.

Abby looked at the crucifix and the blue light it emitted. She felt…nothing. She felt no pain. She felt no fear. She felt no revulsion. She'd once told Owen that she knew of some vampires who did indeed fear the cross. Well, if anyone would have cause to fear it, she was certain it would be Jebediah. Abby lunged forward and grabbed Jebediah by the neck.

"Grandpa, grab those silver chains." She yelled. She saw Oscar complying, so she picked up Jebediah and bodily carried him out the front door, out to the driveway. She threw him down on the gravel and –before he could begin to recover- she'd torn open his sleeves and the cuffs of his pants. Although finally removed from the house where he'd not had an invitation, Jebediah had been very badly weakened by the extreme bleeding he'd suffered and was completely unable to offer his niece any resistance.

"Put the chains on him; his arms, legs and neck!" Abby instructed as she held him down. Oscar quickly draped the deadly silver over Jebediah's neck and extremities.

"What will this do?" Oscar asked.

"It'll pin him down. He won't be able to move."

"Are you sure?"

"They're silver. I'm sure. Now we have to check on Owen!" Abby said as she and Oscar sprinted back into the house.

Owen was where he'd fallen. Abby turned him over gently. He was barely conscious and in bad shape. Blood was coming out of his mouth and nose. Every breath seemed to be painful and caused him to blow bloody bubbles. Oscar noted that his pupils didn't seem to be pointing the proper way and one of them had a different sized iris than the other. He knelt down and squeezed his grandson's hand. He suppressed a cry of despair as he felt how cold it was. Owen was clearly going into shock. He recalled enough first-aid training from the Army to know that Owen wasn't doing well. In all likelihood his lungs had been damaged by the force of the blow. He certainly was suffering from severe internal bleeding. God only knew what other major organs were damaged. He looked down at his grandson and saw he was smiling up at Abby.

"We…get him?" He was able to gasp.

"Yes…We did." Abby sobbed. "Oh Owen, you were so brave! I can't believe you fought him like that."

"I had to." Owen replied weakly. His voice was starting to fade and he was clearly slipping away.

Oscar pulled Abby up and they looked at each other.

"Grandpa…I've got to get him to a hospital!" She said with forlorn hope.

Oscar sighed as options played over in his mind. He shook his head sadly.

"Abby…I don't think he'll last that long."

"He's got to."

"I think he's so badly hurt, if you try to get him there that way, it'd kill him." Oscar said flatly as Abby sobbed and nodded as she acknowledged the truth in this. She reached her only option.

"Grandpa...There's…"

"There IS something you CAN do though. Isn't there?" Oscar said as he looked at Abby and then down to Owen again.

"Yes"

"Then do it!" Oscar said sternly.

"What?" Abby couldn't believe her ears. She knew it was the only way to save Owen from dying, but she hadn't expected Oscar to reach the same conclusion so swiftly.

"It's the only way. I can't…." Oscar said as his voice broke. "I can't see my grandson die like that on my living room floor! I know you can't either. And, you can stop it. You're the only one who can."

"You know what you're saying? You know what it means?"

"Yes. And I know I can't face the alternative. Abby…You know what you have to do. So do it! Please!" Oscar said with a pleading urgency.

Abby knelt down by Owen, and gently brushed hair off of his forehead. She smiled weakly at her as he struggled valiantly to stay awake…to stay alive. Abby looked down at him and smiled, touching his cheek and leaning down at him, getting closer to his face and neck.

"It's alright Owen. You'll be alright now. Just relax. You'll feel a little prick and afterwards you'll be all better." Abby said as she fought to keep her composure. She glanced up and saw Oscar's pleading face. She looked down and saw Owen's peaceful expression as he tried not to give in to his injuries. She silently prayed that what she was about to do was indeed what Owen wanted.

Abby leaned down and sank her fangs into Owen's neck, drinking deeply as he gave a soft moan and she blinked tears out of her own eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

_Greetings dear readers. Welcome to the latest chapter of _Eternally Bonded_. First off, I must apologize for those of you who were looking forward to seeing Owen awaken into his new life. That's not in this chapter. LOL_

_I had actually planned to put it in. However, it was simply running so long that there was simply no place for it. As well, I found that where I ended the chapter was a good natural ending. _

_It was a relatively easy chapter to write. I got the whole thing written in about a day. I found the dialogue scenes between Oscar and Abby just as easy to write as Owen and Abby's are. Maybe it's because Owen and Oscar are related. LOL_

_Owen's awakening and first night as a vampire will be in the NEXT chapter. I promise. :-D_

_BTW, props for anyone who can find my shoutout to _The Big Lebowski_._

_Alright, all my readers know the drill by now. I love reviews. I'm addicted to them. And, I'm not above begging for them. I'm like Old Gill...I'll do anything to close the deal on reviews. LOL_

_Again, I do hope everyone enjoys this, and awayyyy we go._

_And, in case I don't update before the end of the month, Happy Halloween everyone! :-)_

* * *

><p>Eternally Bonded, Chapter V<p>

Abby lifted her head up from Owen's throat. Oscar forced himself to not react as he saw her lower face smeared with blood…His grandson's blood. Oscar reminded himself that Owen would be dead otherwise. But still, after all these months he still found it a little hard to mentally wrap his head around when he was given such a blatant display of what his granddaughter was. Yet, despite her bloodstained face, Oscar could not even begin to associate her with that…monster…that was now snarling in rage and defiance on his driveway. As far as Oscar was concerned, Abby and that…horror…were as different as night and day. They were both vampires, but Oscar would lay down his life to protect one of them…and hoped the other's death would be painful. He then reminded himself of a looming certainty…Owen was now to be a vampire himself.

Abby looked up at her grandfather and sighed. She tried to wipe the blood she knew had to be there from her mouth. Her own thoughts were in a jumble as she tried to process the events of the last few minutes. She'd thought they had won. Owen's plan to get Jebediah in had worked perfectly. Abby had thought that her twisted and evil uncle would either succumb to the blood loss caused by his uninvited entrance, or she would just break a broomstick in half, sharpen the tip…and drive it through his heart. She'd never thought that Jebediah would use his last gasp of strength to try and kill Owen –just to spite her. The one fortunate thing, she thought, was that Jebediah had been weakened by the blood loss so badly. If he'd slammed Owen against the mantle like he had, when he was at his full strength…Abby doubted that there would be much of Owen left anymore for her to be able to save…If saving was the right word for what she had done.

And then there was Owen's blood. To Abby, it was truly an experience like no other. She'd tasted it before, off the floor of that filthy basement room in the Los Alamos apartment building. Then, she'd been in the throes of bloodlust and hadn't been able to appreciate any difference from the countless other times she'd fed. But now…There was something about Owen's blood she couldn't quite describe. It wasn't so much the taste…It was the fact that she seemed to…sense…Owen through it. It was like drinking his blood allowed her to somehow….become one with him. She'd never had that experience with anyone ever before.

And then there was the sensation of feeding that way again. For more than a year, Abby had not attacked a single person to feed off of. Animal blood from the butcher's and –most especially- bags of stored blood "withdrawn" from various blood banks from all over the mountain west had been her staple since leaving Los Alamos. She'd sworn to herself that she'd never harm someone in that way again. In truth, the stored blood wasn't quite the same as her old methods. It filled her. It satisfied her. She hadn't had her stomach growling so loudly that Owen could hear it any longer. Yet…There was something missing. Abby reasoned that the closest simile was that it was a bit like the difference between freeze-dried or frozen food and something prepared fresh.

Despite that, Abby had never desired to go back to "fresh food" in her diet. Bottled blood meant there was no guilt. There was no hating herself every single time she didn't allow herself to starve to death. As well, there were no longer bodies piling up wherever she lived, forcing her to move on to a new home/hunting ground. The exchange was having a home she loved and being able to feel good about herself again.

Thus, the sensation of tasting Owen's blood like that –hot and fresh- was a true rush to her. Abby chased thoughts like that from her head. She decided that perhaps it was fitting that Owen was –she vowed- truly the last person she'd ever directly taste the blood of. He was the one who thought of her new way to live…and he was now going to live it with her.

She looked down at Owen and focused sharply with her enhanced vampire senses. She'd not taken much blood from him –maybe a pint, or so. Not much more than he'd have given at a blood drive by the Red Cross. (Owen was so badly injured that Abby was afraid to take any more. Although she knew that draining a person to death still meant they'd rise again as a vampire, she didn't know what would happen to someone suffering from such severe internal injuries as Owen had. And, she wasn't in any hurry to find out. Thus, she'd stopped drinking once she knew that the…infection…was working in his body. (Abby knew of nothing else to call it. She didn't know what exactly made her what she was. If it was in her saliva, her blood, etc. She just didn't know enough about her what was behind her own condition.)

"Abby?" She heard, as Oscar's voice broke her contemplation. "Is he…?"

"It's working, Grandpa."

"How do you know?"

"I can sense it starting in him." Abby said as she examined him and opened up with all her senses. She could hear a subtle grinding noise. With a suppressed shudder, she realized what it was. It was Owen's bones. They were beginning to knit themselves back together. Abby had never heard that sound before…And, to be honest, it wasn't something she enjoyed hearing. She saw that the various cuts and bruises on Owen's face and body were also beginning to heal themselves. A regular human –such as Oscar- would not be able to see that. (Oscar would just suddenly notice that a cut to Owen's face –where Jebediah had backhanded him, breaking his cheekbone in the process- would be well along to being healed.) And, of course, there were two fresh wounds on Owen's body now. They were the two puncture marks in his neck from her teeth. Not having to struggle with a person meant that Abby's bite was far gentler –the same as it had been with Thomas at the Los Alamos hospital. Thus, instead of his neck being ripped open like Virginia or that poor jogger at the complex, Owen's neck simply bore the classic puncture marks that had become the trademark, stereotypical –thanks to Universal Studios and Hammer Films- image of a vampire's bite. But, even those two wounds, the wounds that marked the end of Owen's human life and his baptism into the vampire life- were now starting to fade.

Oscar looked down at his grandson. Owen's eyes fluttered briefly and the closed as he finally lost consciousness. Oscar noted that Owen's face seemed to have an expression that now seemed almost…contented.

"Abby, is that good? He's passed out." Oscar asked

"Yes. I'm pretty sure it's because of what he's just gone through."

"From what you just did or what your uncle out there did to him?"

"Both. His body has been through a huge amount of trauma from what Jebediah did. And now, it's having the change take place. It's a huge stress. His body probably just shut down while it happens."

"Do…Do you know when he'll wake up again?"

"I don't think he'll wake up before dawn."

"What about after dawn?"

"After dawn, the sleep cycle starts. It's the same thing that happens with me. When the sun rises, something inside me just seems to sense it and starts to shut everything down to rest."

"Really? It's like how people seem to get tired and want to go to sleep, usually, after the sun goes down?"

"I guess it's the same. But it's a lot stronger. It takes a lot to wake me from a sleep cycle. So, I'm pretty sure Owen won't be waking up until the sun sets tomorrow evening."

"I guess it's best to take him down to your room?"

"Yes. That's the safest. There are no windows. No sunlight can ever get in there." Abby said plainly as Oscar quietly absorbed the reality that his grandson would never again look upon blue skies or sunshine with his own eyes. A small part of Oscar was saddened at that. But, he reminded himself that Owen's dying would have been devastating to him. On any day of the week, he'd rather have a grandson who could only live at night than having no grandson at all.

"Do you want to take him down there now?"

"I think that's best. He can rest easily there…and not be disturbed by anyone up here." Abby said with an emphasis on the last word. In response, there was a savage near-cackle from the yard.

"Oh Abigail, have I hurt your little lover? My, my and my, how ironic; you claim to hate the gift I bestowed on you all those years ago…Yet you turn around and bestow it to that little peasant bastard you gave your virginity to! Where did those lofty ideals of self-hatred over your 'cursed' condition go to then?" Jebediah called out with a mocking sneer from the driveway where he lay pinned under the silver chains.

Abby turned to the door in both embarrassment and rage at her uncle's taunts. Her rage was from what he'd done to Owen…and thus forced her to do to save him. Her embarrassment stemmed from Jebediah so loudly announcing the fact that Abby had lost her virginity to Owen. Of course, Abby felt no shame from the fact she and Owen had done that. However, having to hear Jebediah taunt her with it while Oscar was there and hearing every word…was another matter entirely. Put simply, Jebediah was the absolute last person in the world she wanted to reveal the details of her and Owen's sex life to Grandpa Oscar. She snarled and took a step towards the door when Oscar's strong hand fell on her shoulder.

"Abby, that's all that he has left to try and hurt you now: words. The thing is: his words can't hurt you if you don't let them. He's a coward and a weak one at that. He probably thought you'd be easy prey, but you and Owen proved him wrong. Now, he's just fighting back the only way he can now. But, his words are like him. They're empty." Oscar said with a kindly smile on his face.

Abby felt her rage and embarrassment evaporate. She took Oscar's hand and placed it on her cheek. "You always know the right thing to say, don't you?"

"It comes from being a grandfather." Oscar replied as he kept his hand on her cheek for a few seconds before gently removing it. In truth, Oscar's own emotions were bubbling beneath his calm exterior. That pale horror had killed the wife of his best friend. It had wanted to rape his granddaughter and had come close to killing his grandson. It was only his age and the maturity that came with it that prevented Oscar from racing out the front door and trying to rip Jebediah apart with his bare hands himself. He took a deep, calming breath and let it out slowly.

"Do you want me to carry him down?" Oscar asked as he indicated Owen's unconscious form.

"No. I can do it." Abby said as she reached down and gently lifted Owen into her arms. Oscar marveled at the sight. Since coming to live with him, Owen had gotten much taller and muscular (a serendipitous combination of a big growth spurt at puberty and long hours of hard work around the ranch). Yet, Abby picked him up like he weighed nothing. Of course, with her strength, that was probably the case, he thought to himself.

Oscar led Abby outside –noting the shattered glass and remains of the window frame on the porch, from where Jebediah had thrown Abby through it- down the porch and around the house. At the entrance to the root cellar he paused, wondering if he had to retrieve a key before realizing it was unlocked. Of course, he reproached himself; it would make no sense to lock it at night. He went through the small passageway and through the main door into the bedroom itself.

Oscar turned on the bedside light and marveled again at the changes. Fourteen months before, this had been a dingy and disused root cellar. Now, it had been changed into a very cozy looking bedroom. He'd been down here before, of course, when they put the furniture in and installed the electrical outlets. But, as a rule, Oscar didn't come down to Abby's room much. Aside from the relatively low ceiling and lack of windows, it could have been the bedroom of pretty much any girl anywhere. He stepped aside and allowed Abby to lay Owen down on one side of her bed. Oscar reached down and removed Owen's shoes as Abby gently adjusted the pillows around his head.

"There. He should be alright here until dawn." Abby finally said as she caressed Owen's face lovingly. Oscar noted the loving touch and smiled at it.

"Let's go on up, Abby. I don't want to leave our guest alone too long. And I've got to head on over to Joe Lawton's afterwards."

"Mrs. Lawton. Grandpa, was it Jebediah?"

"Yes, I think it's pretty certain." Oscar said as they walked back upstairs. "Why would he do that?"

"Aside from obtaining me there's never been much of a rhyme or reason to his actions; at least not that I've ever been able to see." Abby said with a sigh.

"Oh, you speak of that woman in town?" They heard Jebediah sneer. Abby cursed his enhanced hearing which was clearly allowing him to hear what they were saying. "She was nothing special. She was a humble meal, at best. These migrants to the west are of such low quality and breeding. This whole land is beneath us. Ah, it was better in our day, Abigail. This savage land was occupied by the red men. They should've been allowed to retain it. They're savages fit only for a savage land."

Abby sighed in disgust. "The world has changed around us Jebediah. You speak of the two centuries we've both seen pass before us. Yet, you seem to have not changed with the times. I guess it's fitting that after tonight, you won't see any more of these changes." Abby said with an arch to her eyebrow as Jebediah absorbed her words. Oscar smiled at both Abby's cold words to her uncle and the look of fear on his face as he renewed his struggle to free himself somehow.

* * *

><p>It was several hours later. Abby sat alone, on the front steps, keeping watch on Jebediah. He'd given up on his attempts to taunt or mock her and was focusing all his energy on trying to escape the silver chains. So far, he was having –as expected- no success.<p>

Oscar had gone to Joe Lawton's house. Bill Gillespie had contacted Oscar on the CB radio in his pick-up truck after discovering the dead houseline. Joe had finally been able to reach his daughter who lived in Astoria, Oregon. She was flying out later the next day. Her husband and children were driving out to join her. Joe's son and daughter-in-law, with their children, were similarly on their way home to Montana.

Oscar himself had been able to get in touch with Abby through the CB set in the house, after pre-arranging to go to a private channel. He'd brought her up to speed on what was happening at the neighbouring Lawton ranch.

Bill Gillespie had driven Joe home from the clinic. Oscar had arrived just before that, as he'd not savoured the idea of leaving Abby alone with her uncle. Abby then pointed out the simple fact that she was far more able to deal with Jebediah if the need arose. Oscar had reluctantly agreed and, after getting some sheets of plywood from the tool shed and packing an overnight bag, had left for the Lawton place.

While alone, Abby had made sure to keep herself busy so she wouldn't be able to dwell too much on the events of the night. First of all, she had –while frequently checking on Jebediah's security- cleaned up the living room. The floor was coated with blood: a bit of her blood, some of Owen's…but the vast majority had been from Jebediah. Abby had cringed when she stepped into the mess. She hated her bare feet to come in contact with her uncle's blood. She hated for any part of her body to touch any part of him, unless absolutely necessary. But, this WAS necessary. Abby used some old rags and mopped up the copious amounts of blood that had pooled on the floor. Then she filled a bucket with some cold water and Murphy's Oil Soap and washed the floor off. The blood soaked rags she put in the cellar. They'd be burned at the first opportunity. (She didn't want to leave them outside as she knew that bears could be drawn by the smell of blood. Abby figured that the LAST thing her grandfather needed was to worry about bears prowling around the property.) Overall, the living room looked about right once she had cleaned everything up. The only thing that was irreparably damaged was an old throw rug. It was soaked in blood and was clearly a write-off. Abby consigned it to the rag bag to be burned as well. It was a shame though, she thought. That rug held the whole room together.

And then there was the matter of Jebediah's ring-laden left hand. It lay on the floor just where it had fallen after Oscar had summarily amputated it with his axe. Disposing of it had been a strange business. Once Abby removed it from the blood pool it had been in, it seemed to shrivel and age before her eyes. It was as if that since it was detached from the body, it caught up to its true age –which was well over two hundred and twenty years. (She thought the blood had preserved it while it was in contact with the appendage.) All that was left were bones…and the invaluable rings. Abby crushed his bones to powder in her hands, and put the rings away in her trunk up in Owen's –old- room.

Next, Abby had gone out on the porch, picked up the larger pieces of broken glass and frame from the deck and ground, as well as pulling out any that were still remaining in what had been the bay window's frame. Following that, she got a broom and swept up all the smaller pieces. She was actually amazed that any pieces of glass remained in the frame, as she'd been thrown through it so violently.

It hadn't hurt at all when she went through it. Of course, she was so focused on defeating Jebediah that she had not paid any heed to anything else. Abby thought back to the swimming pool in far away Los Alamos. There, she'd crashed through a heavy skylight as easily as if it were sugar glass. That had been the start of her and Owen's life together. And now, she reflected, another shattered window had marked another turning point of their life and union.

Next, Abby set about nailing the plywood sheets over the now empty space where the living room window had been. That would have to do until they could replace the window itself. Although it was a little awkward to do the job alone, she managed. It helped, of course, that she could levitate herself up to hold the wood in place while she nailed it on.

After nailing on the first sheet, and examining her handiwork, Jebediah's voice reached her ears again.

"Why Abigail, it has fallen to this: a Marshall woman doing manual labour like the common peoples?" Abby sighed and recalled her grandfather's words. Taunting was all her uncle had left to use against her now. He couldn't hurt her if she didn't allow him to.

"This is my home now, Jebediah. I help to keep it up."

"It's not a woman's place to do so; and especially not a Marshall woman. Can you not recall that back in Virginia, we had servants to do that sort of work?"

"My father used hired servants, Jebediah. YOU kept slaves." Abby said frankly. She could still recall, after all this time, the tension that had filled Marshall Hall over this issue. Her father and uncle were equal owners of the plantation. However, they had far differing views on many matters. Jebediah had advocated the use of slave labour. Abby's father, however, had considered slavery a moral abomination and would take no part in it. Instead, her father had hired people to work the land and the house. There were many conflicts both between the brothers and between the two classes of labourers: Jebediah's kept (and savagely disciplined by his overseer) slaves and her father's paid, freed workers. Due to the two brothers being equal owners and partners, one view could not prevail over the other. Abby's father had actually tried to buy out Jebediah several times in his share of the plantation –or so Abby's eldest brother George, had discreetly informed her. Jebediah had refused. George had felt it was simply because he hated the idea of any slaves being freed –as her father would have surely done if he'd taken full ownership of the Marshall's plantation as he was attempting to do.

"Oh yes, your father and his so-called 'enlightened' views; paying good money, on a regular basis, for people who could be paid for once and then kept at a far cheaper rate."

"My father had his own faults dear uncle." Abby said plainly. "But his views on slavery were NOT one of them. He was well more than a century ahead of his time"

"Those Africans…What else were they good for? I still cannot believe that the northern states were willing to fight so long and at such cost just to free them."

"What a shame for you, Jebediah. This long life you've led and it has given you no wisdom or insight into the past." Abby said sadly. She well recalled those four bloody years of the Civil War. The carnage though, had provided countless opportunities for her to find food without being noticed. Both sides had provided sustenance to her. Her personal sympathies though, despite her Virginia heritage, had been with the Union cause.

"And I suppose witnessing history has given you infinite insight about a lesser species that we are meant to rule over?"

"We are not meant to rule over anyone."

"We are a dominant species and we –you and I- are the ruling class of all of them."

"There is no ruling class. There never has been."

"You have some misguided ideas Abigail. Did you allow the words of that peasant, Lincoln, to fowl your mind?"

"Mister Lincoln spoke the truth." Abby said frankly as she set about nailing the second board on. Abby had actually seen Abraham Lincoln once. She'd been in Washington D.C. in 1864. She'd seen him on the way in to Willard's Hotel. Lincoln had actually noticed her in the crowd as he disembarked from his carriage. Somehow, she'd caught his eye. He had already raised his stovepipe hat to acknowledge the greetings from the crowd. His eyes had locked with Abby's. He raised his hat an inch higher from where it had been and a small smile came from his creased, troubled face. The moment passed and the President walked on into the hotel. Abby had stood there for a while afterwards, feeling immensely moved and that she had briefly crossed paths with a great man. A year later, she'd stood with other mourners at the Capitol Rotunda as Lincoln lay in state. It had been a long time since a mortal death had affected her that way, but for some reason, Lincoln's passing did.

"You actually believed his words in Pennsylvania that all men are created equal?"

"All this time hasn't taught you the truth of what he said?" Abby questioned as she drove the final nail in to the plywood cover. The irony was that the vampire world was indeed free of the many prejudices that marked human society. In her travels, whenever Abby had met other vampires, there was never any sort of distinction or discrimination due to race, colour, gender, or even sexual orientation. Blood was truly all that mattered to vampires. Abby wondered sometimes if there was more to the vampire existence than she knew of. Were there hierarchies and societies made of their kind? Maybe she –and now Owen- would look into that sometime.

"The truth is that we are bound to this earth and it us our domain. You and I are destined to rule. I am not the serpent, but the father of serpents in this land…" Jebediah started in again, but Abby cut him off.

"I don't think your ideals will serve you much longer, Jebediah. Do you see the direction you're facing?" Abby asked as she pointed. "That's the east. It's where the sun rises. In a matter of hours, you do know what will be happening, don't you?" Abby asked with satisfied smile on her face. That effectively shut Jebediah up as he returned to attempting to free himself.

Once Abby finished with boarding up the window, she decided that she should have an alternate plan in case it looked like Jebediah was starting to free himself. Thus, Abby went to the woodpile by the side of the house and drew out a small piece of yellow ash, about a foot long. In the cellar, she got Oscar's tackle-box and found a large K-bar knife in it. Sitting back on the porch, she began to whittle the stick of yellow ash into a stake. If Jebediah began to succeed in getting free, she'd be on him in an instant and drive the stake through his heart.

She'd finished the stake and was sitting on the porch, thinking about Owen and absentmindedly using a stick to draw tic-tac-toe in the dirt by the steps, when Oscar's pick-up truck came down the driveway. He stopped a distance away from Jebediah, got out and came to sit down next to Abby on the steps.

"What happened at the Lawton's?" She asked.

"Doctor Cody had given Joe some pills so he could sleep." We talked a good long while –about Elina, Sally…anything and everything. Then he finally took a pill about a half-hour ago. He went out like a light. I decided to come back to make sure you're ok." Oscar said as he put his arm around Abby's shoulders.

"I can handle things fine. I just have to wait another…" Abby looked at her left wrist and then realized she'd forgotten to put her watch on. It was down on her bedside table. "What's the time?"

"It's about 4:30; about another hour or so before sunrise." Oscar said with a yawn.

Abby looked towards the east. The sky was still dark, but with her enhanced vision she could see that some of the stars were starting to appear faded close to the horizon. "That seems about right."

"What would you have done at sunrise though? You couldn't stay and wait the whole time. I know you have to get downstairs. That's why I came back." Oscar said.

Abby nodded in response, as she hadn't thought of that. "Thanks"

Oscar looked at the house and saw that the broken window had been cleaned up and boarded over. "You've been busy."

"I had to do something. I also took some fresh sheets downstairs for tomorrow night."

"Why?"

"Owen's clothes were bloody when we put him on the bed. I'll change them tomorrow. Oh, I also cleaned up inside the living room."

"Thanks. I wasn't looking forward to that. How does the living room look now?"

"It looks fine. The only thing I couldn't clean was that carpet in front of the mantle. It'll have to be burned with the rags I used."

"That's too bad. That rug really held the room together."

"I know." Abby said with a sigh. "I'm sorry, Grandpa."

"What do you have to be sorry for?"

"Owen"

"Why?"

"Because of what happened tonight."

"How is that your fault?"

"He was looking for me. Owen was hurt because of me. I had…to make Owen what I am because of me."

"It's your uncle's fault, Abby. It's not yours."

"It doesn't change what's happened. You must wish I'd never come here."

"What? Where in the world did you get that idea from?"

"What I did to Owen's life."

"You saved his life."

"If it wasn't for me, he wouldn't have needed saving."

"From what I was told, you saved him at that pool in Los Alamos as well."

"It doesn't change the fact about what Owen is now. He's like me now."

"Abby," Oscar said as he put his arm around her and pulled her into a hug. "If…If, when Owen was born and someone had asked me what I saw his future to be, I admit this would not have been one of the possible choices. But, what I definitely would have wanted for him was that he would be happy. No matter what else, I'd want him to be happy. And, if there's one thing I know for certain is that Owen is very happy with you and that being with you, like this, will be something he'll be very happy with as time goes on."

"He…He had brought up the idea a few times about me turning him."

"He had?" Oscar asked. In truth, he wasn't really surprised by that piece of news. Deep down, a part of him had long realized this would come to pass one day. Oscar knew what the reality of the situation was with Owen and Abby's relationship. There were only two ways it could go. And, he suspected he knew what his grandson would opt for.

"Yes"

"What did you say?"

"I told him it wasn't something he should speak of lightly."

"Had you wanted to?"

"Yes…and no. I wanted to be with him forever, the way he said he wanted to be with me. I wanted that so badly. But, I also kept thinking of what so much of my life had been like before I met him. I hated to put him through that."

"You don't live like that anymore."

"No. But, he had such a future if he hadn't met me. He's so smart. He could've been anything he wanted to be."

"Yes. But, was he happy at all before he met you?"

"No. In fact, he says that he'd have wound up really twisted and sick if things had kept on like they had back in New Mexico without my coming into his life."

"There. You see? You're a blessing to his life. You're a blessing to mine as well."

"Huh?"

"Abby, before you two arrived here I was a very lonely man. Owen's grandmother had been gone for over five years. I hadn't seen Owen for seven years. My son lives in San Francisco and has a life there. HE doesn't see his children as often as he would like, let alone me seeing them. My daughter, Owen's mother, hasn't spoken to me for eight years. I mean, when Owen disappeared from Los Alamos, she didn't even call me –or his uncle, for that matter."

"She didn't?" Abby asked. Even though she was not all impressed with Owen's mother, from the evidence she'd seen thus far; she couldn't fathom that she wouldn't contact her own father to let him know his grandson had disappeared.

"Not once."

"Grandpa…Why was that? When we left Los Alamos, Owen said that he knew his mother and you didn't talk any longer, but he didn't know why. I, uh, I understand if it's a family matter and you don't want to tell me."

"Yes, I suspect his mother wouldn't have told him. And, for your information, you, sweetheart, ARE family. You are a part of this family and you have just as much right to know as Owen does. The reason is his Uncle Lyle. Well, back in 1975, Lyle was married. He had two children. He was living a normal life. The next year, well, Lyle discovered something."

"What was that?"

"That he's homosexual."

"He is?"

"Yes. He said that he always sort of knew, but just wouldn't let himself accept it. But, he couldn't deny the truth any longer. He and his wife divorced as amicably as possible. His children don't live with him, but he's a part of their lives –far more than Owen's father was in his life, before he met you apparently."

"How did that affect you and Owen's mother?"

"Well…I admit that I was really shocked when he told me. I should've been a little calmer about it. But, I guess I'm from a generation that had a harder time accepting stuff like that. Luckily, Owen's grandmother was far smarter than I was. -I really wish, you could have met her, by the way. I am certain she would have loved you so much.- She reminded me that Lyle was still my son. Nothing could change that truth or that fact that I love him and should support him no matter what. And, naturally, she was absolutely right. I kicked myself for not realizing that on my own right away. I told Lyle that I loved him and accepted him no matter what and only wanted him to be happy. I mean, if you can't be happy with who you are…That's not a good way to live." Oscar said, not noticing the thoughtful look on Abby's face as she recalled the long years where she hated herself for being what she was. "But, Owen's mother, on the other hand simply refused to accept it. She said that Lyle was committing a sin against God and she would have no part of it and no part of him. And, since I'd accepted Lyle she'd have no part of me either. Along with that, I'd have no chance to allow my 'acceptance of a sodomite' to corrupt her son either. And that was the last I heard from her or saw Owen until the two of you arrived at the front door."

"That's so sad, Grandpa."

"Yeah, it is. And I'd gotten more or less used to it. I wasn't at all happy though. I was lonely. I was miserable. But then, the two of you arrived." Oscar said with a smile. "I had my grandson back in life. And now I had you as well – the most wonderful granddaughter a man could have ever asked for. Abby, I could not love you anymore if you were my own flesh and blood." He said as he gave her a hug.

"I love you too, Grandpa." Abby said as she fought to keep her voice from breaking.

"So, don't you ever think I'm not grateful that you came here. I count the day you two arrived as one of the happiest days of my life."

"Really?"

"Yep. I'll admit that the morning after you two got here, I wasn't quite sure I hadn't dreamed it all. I was actually afraid I had dreamed it all. I'd actually had dreams like that over the years -that Owen's grandmother was still alive and with me, or that Owen's mother has reconciled with me and come to visit with Owen." Oscar sighed sadly. "I always felt so disappointed when I woke up, alone in the house, and realized I'd just been dreaming. I was pretty much expecting the same thing the morning after you got here. But, that morning when I got up and looked in Owen's room, I saw him sleeping in Lyle's old bed and the trunk right next to it. That's when I knew that it wasn't a dream and my life wasn't going to be the same any longer."

"It changed my life too, and Owen's."

"I know."

"Grandpa…um…Before, what Jebediah said about what Owen and I have done…" Abby started with obvious discomfort.

"Yeah, I sort of figured on that already." Oscar said.

"You did?"

"Abby, I was young once myself. I know what it's like to be very young and in love with someone. It didn't take a genius to figure out what you and Owen get up to when I'm not around or after I'm in bed." Oscar said. (He didn't add that he also did the laundry and that was a pretty good giveaway too.)

"You don't…disapprove?"

"Well, let's just say that if you were a normal girl I'd be far more concerned and MUCH stricter about it. But, that's not the reality. I know Owen loves you and I know you love Owen. I also know my grandson treats you with respect –I wouldn't expect anything less of him. And, to be totally honest, I'm in no position to judge. When I met his grandmother, I wasn't any older than Owen is now. And, well, she and I were inseparable from the time we met and we weren't exactly virgins any longer when I brought her back here to meet my family." Oscar said as an awkward silence hung in the air. "Ah, I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention that last part to Owen." He said with a slightly embarrassed chuckle.

"Don't worry. I have a feeling he'll prefer that." Abby said with a giggle of her own. She had a feeling that Owen didn't want to know the details of his grandparents' sex life when they were younger any more than he –or she- enjoyed discussing that with Oscar now. Even amongst loving families…some things were better left unspoken.

* * *

><p>About a half-hour later, the eastern sky had begun to visibly pale. Abby had gone to the main cellar to retrieve a bundle of bloodied rags and the throw rug. She'd instructed Oscar to burn it…and the opportunity for that was soon approaching. She'd also gone up to Owen's room and brought some things down to the root cellar for the following evening. Oscar had brought around his garden hose, to ensure nothing got out of control after sunrise.<p>

Abby looked to the east and turned to Oscar. "I think I should be getting downstairs soon, Grandpa."

"I was thinking the same thing." He looked at the stake Abby had sharpened. "Were you planning on using that?"

"Only if it looked like he was about break free. I…I never thought of myself as a cruel person. I'd have used it anyways, rather than wait for the sun. But…He tried to kill Owen. He did it just to spite me and steal away the person who saved me from the misery HE cast me into. I can forgive him, I guess, for what he did to me. But, I can't and won't forgive him for hurting Owen. Does that make me bad, do you think?"

"I think it makes you human."

"That's ironic."

"I guess."

"Grandpa, are you going to stay at the Lawton's tonight?"

"I'm not sure. Why?"

"Well, when Owen gets up tonight, it's going to be a strange experience for him. I think it's best for you to stay out of sight. Don't invite him into the house just yet. I want him to adjust to what he'll feel first."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"You'll be back here this afternoon?"

"Yes"

"You could take some blood from the fridge and put it just outside the last door to the room."

"How much of it do you want?"

"I think, all the IV bags and at least a half-dozen of the bottles from the butcher."

"He'll want that much?"

"I don't think so. But, I don't want to take any chances." Abby said somberly

"I understand." Oscar said with a nod of his head.

"So, that's it."

"What is?"

"Where Owen gets it from?"

"Gets what?"

"How wonderful a person he is; he inherited the genes from you." Abby said as she gave her grandfather a hug and a kiss on his cheek.

She started to walk around the house to the root cellar entrance. Then, she stopped and walked over to where Jebediah still struggled to free himself, before the advent of sunrise.

"Jebediah" She said plainly.

"Abigail. You wished to perhaps change your mind and become queen of our kind."

"No. And you won't be in a position to be king for much longer either. I actually wanted to say one last thing to you."

"Oh really?"

"Yes. I wanted to thank you."

"You wished to thank me? You wished to show gratitude for my bestowing upon you the gift of the night?"

"No. I wanted to thank you for the example you set for me."

"My example?"

"Yes. There were many times over the years, so MANY times, that I wanted to give in. I was tired of hating myself. I was tired of starving myself so I wouldn't have to feed off of anyone and feel the guilt afterwards. I was so tempted to just give in. I was tempted to accept what I was and just enjoy it…the hunt...the kill…the feeding. I wouldn't have to feel troubled any longer over what I was, because I'd give myself to it and revel in the blood, death and chaos I'd leave in my wake. But then, I'd think of you. I'd think of you and then I'd realize that if I gave into it like that, I'd become like you. And, I remembered that I didn't want to become a monster like you. So, I always fought off the urge to give in. And, in the end, I was rewarded. I'm certain that I wouldn't have met and couldn't have become friends with Owen if I'd let myself become like you are. You may have made me into a vampire, Jebediah; but I have never become the monster that you are."

"How touching." Her uncle sneered despite the fear on his face as he kept glancing to the east. "You have no desire to take revenge upon me then? No wish to make me answer for all that I've done to you?"

"You may have to answer, but not to me." Abby said frankly. "As for revenge, have you ever heard the saying that the best revenge is to live well? I am going to live well. I am going to live well and I am going to live with Owen. We are both going to live very well, with each other, forever." Abby said with finality as she turned and walked away.

Oscar smiled to himself as he overheard Abby's final words to the monster that made her but failed to corrupt her. He listened as she walked away and audibly shut the outer door to the root cellar entrance. Oscar –wearing a glove- picked up the bundle of bloodied rags and rug and carried it over to Jebediah. He placed it right next to him. Abby told him that no accelerant would be necessary once the sun rose.

"Farmer…You think yourself to be worthy of being kin to Abigail?" Jebediah sneered at Oscar as he walked back to the house and turned on the faucet where the garden hose was attached.

"I've been more worthy of it than you've been…or ever could be." Oscar responded as he began to spray down the area starting from five feet from Jebediah, all the way back to the porch.

"I could make you wealthy. I have acquired much over the years. All of it, I shall give to you if you pledge yourself to me." Jebediah said in an enticing tone as he changed tactics.

"I'm doing well enough; very well, actually. And even if I wasn't…I wouldn't take a penny from you. You don't get it, do you? You harmed my family! You tried to rape my granddaughter. You tried to kill my grandson. If you were a normal man, you would be dead by now. I'd have killed you with my own bare hands. I was taught to once, over forty years ago. I have had to actually do it, more than once –again forty years ago. But, what's important is that I have not forgotten HOW to do it." Oscar looked to the east. He saw the sun was starting to peak over the horizon.

"Look at me, farmer! Look at me! You don't dare do this! You hope to do this? You, who simply work the soil and raise beasts? You hope to destroy me? I have reaped and sown in human lives! Blood is my seed! I…" Jebediah screamed in rage and despair as the first shimmering light of dawn touched him.

Oscar stood back, transfixed. The vampire's skin began to steam and smolder as the sunlight touched him and took hold. Jebediah began to scream in both rage and fear as he felt the light touch his skin. Smoke began to emit from his body. As his skin began to darken. Oscar took another cautionary step backwards, but was unable to take his eyes off the sight before him. Jebediah's face took on its full vampire appearance as he continued to thrash and scream. In the east, the sun rose above the horizon and full daylight touched the struggling, smoldering vampire.

Jebediah burst into a ball of fire. He was still screaming from inside the conflagration as the flames consumed him. Oscar turned the hose on again and wet down the ground between the driveway and the porch, making sure to keep the lawn soaked. Luckily, the spring so far had been fairly wet and the grass was moist. As far as he was concerned, one blade of grass was worth more than what Jebediah's whole person was to the world. The fireball finally stopped screaming and crumpled in the early light of dawn. The bundle of rags was easily consumed by the flames and intense heat. Oscar watched in amazement as the fire slowly began to die out. Afterwards, there was nothing left of the vampire. Oscar knew that even after very bad fires, some parts of bodies remained, but there was nothing of Jebediah Marshall left. The only thing that remained were the few rings that had been on his right hand; they lay on the ground, melted and distorted from the heat. As well, there were several distorted lumps that had once been the silver chains which had served to hold him down. Oscar Alfredson sighed in amazement and began to hose down the area. He had a long day ahead of him still. He wondered what would happen that evening when Owen awoke in his new life.

Down in the root cellar, Abby looked up from the side of the bed where she was sitting. Vaguely, she could hear Jebediah's screams. Then, as plucked from a patch, the shadow of his presence was lifted. She could no longer sense him in her mind. Abby smiled to herself. She knew then, that Jebediah had been destroyed forever.

A great weariness came over her. As she'd told Oscar, the vampire's sleep cycle naturally asserted itself at dawn. She had –through great force of will- forced herself to remain awake so she could sense, if not personally witness, the end of her uncle. But now, her resolve to stay awake had left her as the need had. On top of everything else, it had been a most trying night –physically, mentally and emotionally.

Abby lay down beside Owen and looked over at him. He was completely still. The injuries on his face had completely healed themselves by now. He was now deep into the sleep cycle –his first, she realized, of his vampire life.

Only hours before, at dusk, she'd awakened to find him there awaiting her rising. They'd talked and laughed. He'd told her there wasn't a lot to do that night around the ranch. An easy night, they'd expected. Instead, it had been fully the hardest and most dangerous night of their life together.

Abby yawned. She was too tired to even remove her clothing. At dusk, watching her pad about naked, getting clothes out of the drawer, Owen had wanted to make love with her. She'd giggled and told him that they could perhaps do it later. Well, when later came, they were fighting for their lives instead. Abby tried to recall the last time a night had passed without them making love.

She reached over and turned off the reading light. She pulled herself close to Owen in the darkness and put her arm around him. It was as if she didn't want to let him out of her grasp, as he might be taken from her. Before sleep claimed her, she leaned close to his face and kissed him.

"Sleep well, Owen. I know this is what you wanted. And, I have to admit, it's what I wanted to. I love you…and now we really will have eternity together." She murmured as she drifted into her own sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

_Greetings dear readers. Sorry for the time between updates, but I've been a tad busy._

_I had originally planned for this chapter to be much, MUCH longer. It would have dealt with Owen actually trying out his new abilities. However, as this was already getting pretty long and I didn't want to make the chapter too long, I decided to end it where it is now. I found it to be a natural cut-off point. The rest of Owen's first night as a vampire will be covered in Chapter VII. I hope nobody minds. :-D_

_Alright, everybody should know the drill by now. Reviews to me are like candy canes are to Santa. I'm a hopeless addict who you don't want to see go into the DT's. Please save me from this by reviewing. :-D_

_Historical Note: The picture of Owen's Uncle Lyle from Vietnam was supposed to have been taken after the Battle of Ia Drang Valley, in November of 1965. It was a four day battle, lasting from the 14th until the 18th, that was one of the first clashes between the U.S. forces and North Vietnamese Army. It was the subject of the very well done film _We Were Soldiers_._

_And awayyyy we go. :-D_

Eternally Bonded, Chapter VI

There was darkness.

Images appeared before Owen's eyes. They were scenes from his past, and they swam before him in a haze.

"_Are you scared, little girl?" He sneered before angrily stabbing a frozen tree trunk with a small pocketknife. His stabbing motions grew more and more frantic as all the anger and frustrations that had accumulated inside of him for so many months and years were slowly released. An odd gust of wind seemed to blow just then and Owen paused as some sixth sense told him that he was no longer alone in the courtyard. He turned around and saw that girl who'd moved in next door to him the other night was standing on top of the playground's jungle gym. Owen looked at her for a few seconds. From the brief look he'd had of her the other night, he'd thought she was quite pretty. Now, in the halogen lit courtyard, he could see that was indeed pretty, even if she appeared disheveled in an old, hooded sweatshirt. Owen also noticed that she was barefoot, just like the night she'd moved in. In fact, she was wearing a skirt and her legs were bare as well. Owen briefly wondered how she didn't seem bothered by the cold._

"_What're you doing?" The girl asked in a flat, disinterested tone. Owen felt a brief pang of disappointment that she didn't seem to be a very warm personality._

"_Nothing" Owen replied evenly. "What're __you__ doing?"_

"_Nothing" The strange girl replied as she jumped to the ground. She straightened up and looked at Owen. "Just so you know…I can't be your friend." She said as she walked off into the night._

_The words, spoken in such a blunt, matter-of-fact tone shook Owen. He briefly wondered what could be so wrong with him that friendship was something he was incapable of. Even a girl he'd met just ten seconds ago seemed to not want to be his friend. He decided he couldn't let her see that he was affected by this and opted for bravado._

"_Well, who said I __wanted__ to be your friend anyways?" He called back to her._

* * *

><p><em>Owen followed Abby after she'd run out the drug store and saw her bent over by a car, retching. It took him a minute to realize she'd vomited up the Now &amp; Later he'd offered to her. He stared at Abby as she looked up at him sadly.<em>

"_Sorry" She just said. That was all Owen needed. He stepped over to her and put his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. He just held her as his heart pounded in suppressed excitement at being this close to her. He'd never hugged a girl like this before and it felt…awesome. And, the fact that it was Abby made it even more so. Owen was ignored by his classmates –except for the three bullies- and pretty much was treated like he was invisible. However, that didn't work both ways. Owen had begun to notice that there were girls in his class. Some of them could definitely be regarded as attractive. They were, for the most part, very popular. Their clothes were always properly matched and accessorized. They knew all about music. Boys at the school all seemed to vie for their interest. Yet, for Owen, he hadn't felt any of the attraction to any of them that he'd begun to feel for Abby. He couldn't explain it, but he just felt…something…for her that he couldn't put into words. As well, there was a vague sensation in the back of his mind that whispered to him that Abby would be the most important person he'd ever meet. In the meantime, Owen just enjoyed the feel of her (very) cold, soft skin against his cheek and the scent of her hair. For a second, Owen found himself wishing he'd never have to let her go._

"_Owen…Do you like me?"_

"_Yeah…A lot." _

* * *

><p><em>He stared at the vacant playground that looked so cold in the early morning light. It was cold. It was bitterly cold outside, but not nearly as cold as Owen felt within him. She was gone. She'd left in a taxi the night before. The tears flowed freely as the massive implication hit home again for him. He'd never see her again. He knew she had to leave, after the policeman was killed the morning before. But, he wished it didn't have to be. Owen no longer cared that she was a vampire. She was Abby. She was the only person who'd ever made him feel…good. He wished she'd found some way to stay. Or, what if she'd asked him to come with her? Owen thought about it a minute. Yes, he realized. He'd have gone with her without a second thought. The tears fell harder as Owen prayed that somehow he would be able to see her again and tell her this. He found himself wishing that he was a vampire too, so he could have gone with her.<em>

* * *

><p><em>Owen woke up to sunlight coming in through his window. He sat up, momentarily disoriented as he looked around at the strange room. Then he remembered. They'd made it. They were at his grandfather's house and this was his Uncle Lyle's old room. He looked around the room again and took it all in. Apparently nobody had used the room permanently since his uncle had lived there. There were some photographs of his uncle when he'd played football in high school. There was a later photograph of his uncle -looking incredibly tired and dirty, with haunted eyes that were giving off the infamous 'thousand yard stare'- in a filthy, bloodied and torn Army uniform posing with other soldiers -whose faces bore the same looks as Uncle Lyle- in Vietnam, in a picture labeled "Members of 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry (Airmobile) after the Battle of Ia Drang Valley, Landing Zone X-Ray, November 14-18, 1965". A Silver Star Medal and Purple Heart Medal, along with some general service medals lay in a framed case. And then Owen saw the trunk. It was moved from against the wall to beside his bed. He saw a small piece of paper left on top of it. He picked it up. It read: "Good morning Owen. I hope your cold is feeling better. I already love it here and I can't wait for us to explore it together. I love you." It ended with "Owen + Abby" inside of a heart. <em>

* * *

><p><em>It was the same room, only summer moonlight came in through the open window. Abby screamed out Owen's name in ecstasy as the bed creaked under their movements. Owen rolled off of her and they looked at each other. Owen was bathed in sweat and he was certain the only reason Abby wasn't as well was because she simply didn't sweat. <em>

"_Are…Are you alright?" Owen asked her._

"_Uh-huh." Abby replied with a nod of her head and a strange smile._

"_Did I…Did I do it right?"_

"_Oh, I think so. It definitely felt like you were doing it right. It…hurt…but I think that's normal the first time."_

_The first time, Owen thought to himself. He'd just had sex for the first time. And it was with Abby. He knew there wasn't anyone in the world he'd rather have had it with. He idly wished he'd been allowed to take sex education in health class back in Los Alamos. (His mother had refused to give her consent.)_

"_Do you want to…try it again?" Owen asked nervously._

_Abby gave him a look like she couldn't believe he had to ask that question. "Well yeah. I've heard it gets even better when you get more experience." She said with a giggle._

"_Do you…?"_

"_Do I what?"_

"_Do you want to be on top next time?"_

"_Do you want me to be?"_

"_I thought we could try it."_

"_I'd like that." Abby smiled and touched her hand to Owen's face._

* * *

><p><em>Owen looked at Abby as she finally drifted back into her sleep cycle. He leaned down and kissed her as he pulled the covers up to her shoulders as he gently stood up from the bed. He looked around the room, making sure he'd put her clean laundry (the reason he'd come downstairs in the first place) in the proper place. As he turned off the reading light and stepped out the door he cast a glance back at his sleeping lover. He wondered again at the surge of emotion it would've taken to disrupt her sleep in the middle of the day. For some reason, he thought it was a bad omen but dismissed the thought.<em>

* * *

><p>The<em> icy cold hand grabbed him and thrust him through the air. There was a crunch from behind and an explosion of pain through his body. Owen fell to the floor like a ragdoll. His grandfather and Abby's screams sounded very far away now. He felt oddly detached and was beginning to get very cold. Soon, Abby's beautiful, tear-stained face appeared over him. He asked if they'd gotten Jebediah. Abby replied that they had and Owen had been so brave. He felt a brief surge of pride that Abby felt he was brave. It was getting harder to focus on her now. It was liked looking at her through a dark tunnel. Then he heard her voice.<em>

"_It's alright Owen. You'll be alright now. Just relax. You'll feel a little prick and then afterwards you'll be all better." Her head bent down over his neck. True to her words, he did feel a little sting, like a doctor's needle; and then, sweetness. It was strange. He realized what she was doing. He felt a relief that she was turning him at last, but it was more than that. The sensation of Abby's lips on his throat…her canines puncturing his jugular…her tongue pressed against his skin as his blood flowed over it…It was beyond all words. It was like he was drowning in the Los Alamos pool again, only this time he was __enjoying__ it. His vision seemed to tinge red like he was viewing everything through the red wine his mother always drank. But now, his visions were of a liquid more fiery than wine. Abby's lips pulled away and Owen allowed himself to fall into a comforting darkness…._

Owen opened his eyes. He was in Abby's root cellar turned bedroom. He could see it easily. There were no windows in the cellar and the light was not turned on, but he could see every detail in the room perfectly. And he could hear things. He could hear the tiniest creaks in the house above him. He could hear the gentle fluttering of the springtime breeze outside that was now dying down with the advent of night. And he could smell…He could smell so many things all at once that they overwhelmed him. A small hand touched his arm and he jumped.

"Owen?"

"Abby? Sorry, you scared me."

"Owen!" She cried as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him hard. "I was so scared last night. I thought I'd lose you."

"Last night?" Owen said as he tried to think back. "We…We got him, didn't we? We stopped your uncle?"

"Yes. I left him pinned down by those silver chains on the driveway. He was destroyed when the sun rose."

"Grandpa…Is he?"

"He's fine. He's probably going to stay tonight at the Lawton house."

"Good. Abby…Everything from last night is all fuzzy. I've got to know…Did you….Did you…?" His voice trailed off as he pointed to his neck. Abby sighed deeply.

"Yes, Owen. I turned you. I'm…I'm so sorry. It was the only way to save you from dying."

"Abby…Why are you sorry?" Owen said gently. His voice was calm even as his mind tried to assimilate the fact that it had happened. He was a vampire now. He would now live forever…with Abby. At that last thought, a smile crept to his face.

"What I've done to you."

"I wanted you to. You know that. Actually…Last night, before Grandpa called from the clinic, the idea I had..."

"What was it?"

"I thought you could turn me and then it would've been the two of us against your uncle. We could've handled him easily then."

"THAT was your plan?"

"Yeah"

"You'd have wanted me to do that?"

"I thought that stopping Jebediah was more important." Owen said, then his eyes widened. "Abby…Does Grandpa know what happened?"

"Yes. He told me to do it."

"He did?"

"Yeah. He said that he and I both knew it was the only way to save you. He said he couldn't watch you die on his living room floor."

"So…He's alright with this?" Owen asked nervously. As much as he'd always wanted Abby to turn him, he didn't want there to be any tension with his grandfather. In truth, he felt closer now to his grandfather than he'd felt to either of his parents by the time he'd left Los Alamos.

"He's alright with it, Owen. We're both so lucky to have him."

"Yeah, I know. My mom would've…Well, I don't know what she would've done but I'm sure it wouldn't have been good."

"I can't even imagine." Abby said as she got up from the bed and went over to the door. Owen reached over and turned on the reading light. He wasn't sure why he'd do that now, but he did it anyways. Abby then returned, carrying with her a large cooler.

"What's that?"

"Breakfast" Abby said simply as she withdrew a beer bottle and wrenched off the top. "Here Owen, drink this." She said as she held out the bottle to him. Owen took the bottle with some trepidation. Could he do this? Could he actually drink blood?

He took a sniff…and something happened. A yearning hunger filled him. It was like nothing he'd ever known before. He put the bottle to his lips, tilted it back and drank deeply. He found the taste…distasteful…but he couldn't stop himself. He drank until the bottle was empty.

"Ugh. That tasted really bad…but I couldn't stop. What was that?"

"Cow's blood, I think. It came from the butcher shop. Here, have some more." Abby said as she opened another bottle and Owen repeated the process. He did it three more times while Abby had a bottle herself.

"How do you feel now?" Abby asked as Owen set down his fifth empty bottle.

"Full. Or, well, fuller."

"I know the feeling. Here, try some of this." Abby said as she pulled out an IV-bag marked "O-Positive".

"I think I'm full now."

"Owen…Trust me." Abby said firmly. Owen complied. He put the valve to his mouth and squeezed it gently. Now THIS was more like it. The animal blood was about as appetizing as the mystery meat in his middle-school cafeteria. But this…This was delicious. He set the bag down and licked his lips. His tongue ran over his teeth and he felt shocked at the fact that his canines were now long and sharp. He put his hand to his mouth as if to conceal them. Abby just smiled gently.

"It's the blood causing that, Owen. Don't worry, that's normal."

Owen smiled in relief and finished off the IV-bag. Abby held out another for him.

"I'm full now."

"Trust me, Owen. You need to do this."

"Stuff myself?"

"Yes"

"Why?"

"This is all new to you. You'll be having impulses caused by your need to feed. Sometimes, those impulses can get out of control. I want you to overfeed until you get used to it and can control it."

"You think I'd lose control?"

"You wouldn't be able to help it. Remember that secret room in Los Alamos? I lost control and almost attacked you. That's because I was hungry. We need to make sure you don't get hungry. That's why I wanted Grandpa to stay at the Lawton's tonight."

"You were afraid I'd lose control?"

"Owen, would you have wanted to take that chance?"

"No…I guess you were right."

"I know it's all new to you. You can see, hear and smell a lot of things now. Can't you?"

"Yes. Can you?"

"Of course"

"Doesn't it drive you crazy?"

"Oh no, once you get used to it, you'll be fine. It's like…Remember when we first got here and you were shoveling the sheep manure out in the paddocks for the first time?"

"Yeah"

"Remember how you said the smell was so bad?"

"Uh huh"

"Do you still smell it like that?"

"No. I've done it so often I don't even notice it…" Owen's voice trailed off and he nodded his head as he grasped the point she was making.

Owen wrenched off the valve and began to drink from the second IV-bag. Abby noticed his enjoyment of it.

"Do you like that better?"

"It's…I can't describe it, but it tastes wonderful. Don't you think so?"

"Oh…yeah" Abby said hastily. In truth, Abby found that the taste of IV-bagged blood was less than ideal. It certainly met her nutritional needs. But the taste…She thought the most apt comparison was a meal of freeze-dried or dehydrated food versus the same menu prepared fresh. However, as Owen had never (and Abby would make sure of it) fed from a living person, he had nothing to compare it to. As a result, he thought the IV-blood was wonderful. Abby decided not rain on his parade.

"Did you have dinner last night? Before everything happened, I mean?" Abby asked.

"Yeah, Grandpa made meatloaf."

"Was it good?"

"Yeah, I've liked just about everything he's made; except when he makes macaroni and cheese, of course." Owen had long grown tired of the staple of his mother's cooking. He'd tolerated it when his grandfather made it because he didn't make it almost every single night and he knew that his grandfather cooked it because it was one of his own personal favourites. "Why do you ask?"

"I just wanted to make sure?"

"Make sure of what?"

"That your last day as a human…That you enjoyed it." Abby said with a sad grin on her face. "Did you enjoy it, Owen?" He looked at her.

"Yeah, I did. It was a nice day. I was working outside all day. I came in and I had a nice dinner with Grandpa. Mind if I ask though…?"

"Ask what?"

"What was your last day as a human like?" Owen asked as he studied Abby's face. She smiled sadly.

"It's been so long Owen, I have a hard time remembering. I do remember the sun though. I thought it was so beautiful. I remember I went down to the James River that afternoon and I watched the sun shine on the water. It was…beautiful. It was like a million little diamonds twinkling in a field of blue. I also remember not wanting to go back to the house for supper. But, I thought to myself that I'd be able to come back there tomorrow and see the sunshine on the water again." Abby shook her head sadly. "That's my last memory of sunshine. But yeah, my last day as a human was a good one as well. There's nothing I'd have done differently."

"There's only one thing I'd have done differently."

"What's that?"

"You know that bag of Now & Later's that you got me at Easter?"

"What about them?"

"I still had some left. If I'd known, I'd have finished them before." Abby laughed I relief.

"Sorry about that. Maybe you can still have them."

"How would I do that? Remember when I gave you one in Los Alamos?"

"Well, I actually was fine with it until I accidentally bit down on and swallowed it. Maybe if you just suck on them for the taste, then spit them out you can still enjoy them."

"That's a great idea. Would you try some with me?"

"Sure. You won't rest until I've become a Now & Later girl, will you?"

"Nope…Say, that reminds me about something I was thinking about the other day."

"What?"

"Abby, do you ever think about eating normal food again?"

"Sometimes; I've really thought about it the last year when I watched you and Grandpa eat –especially on special occasions, like Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas…"

"I was thinking…I wonder if we could swallow a tiny bit of food and not get sick?" Abby shrugged.

"I don't know. We might. Why?"

"Well, I thought that if we try a tiny bit regularly, and don't get sick we might be able to take a little bit more and keep it up until we're used to it. I thought that if we find how much would make us sick and then we slowly increased the amounts, we might be able to eat regular food again."

"It wouldn't replace us needing blood."

"I know…But I thought it would be nice to be able to sit at the table with Grandpa and actually eat with him. Also, in case we ever have to blend in somewhere, people wouldn't look at us weird if weren't eating. Don't you think so?" Owen asked as Abby smiled.

"Yeah, I do."

"Cool." Owen said as he put his arm around Abby and pulled her into a kiss. Just then, he looked down at her –at the both of them, actually- for the first time since he'd woken up. They were both a sight. Abby's clothing was torn in several places from the glass when she'd been thrown through the living room window. Her hair was matted and dirty. Her bare feet and the bottom of her jeans were stained red from all the blood in the living room. As for himself, his clothes were stained from where he'd fallen onto the blood coated living-room floor. His hair was likewise matted stiff from the blood.

"I think we'll need a shower and change of clothes." Owen noted.

"I brought some clean clothes down here for you, last night, along with some of your bathroom stuff. As for a shower, we'll have to use the hose."

"Why?"

"Well, I could go into the house to use the shower if I wanted to. You can't though, and I thought you'd prefer me joining you."

"Why can't I go in?"

"You need an invitation now. And Grandpa isn't here so he can't invite you in."

"Oh, right." Owen said, feeling slightly stupid.

"Once you get used to everything, you'll be able to go inside again no problem. We'll get your stuff moved down to here."

"Will I be able to put up my _Star Wars_ posters?" Owen teased as Abby feigned being conflicted.

"I guess I'll move one or two of my posters to let you put up some of yours." Abby laughed.

As Abby laughed, Owen looked at her torn, purple, t-shirt. It was definitely only good for the rag bag now.

"You really went through the window hard." Owen noted.

"Yeah, the whole thing has to be replaced. I nailed some plywood on to cover it up last night."

"Now that I think about it, I forget…Did we do a lot of damage to the living room?"

"No. I was able to clean everything up alright. The only thing that couldn't be replaced was the rug in front of the mantle. It was soaked with blood and had to go out."

"Too bad…That rug held the whole room together."

"I know." Abby agreed. "So…Do you want me to start teaching you how to do things?"

"Yeah! I'd love that!"

"I thought you would. But first, give me a hand." Abby said as she got up and began to strip the bed.

"Doing what?"

"We got the sheets filthy by lying on them today. I want to put some clean ones on for the morning when we go to bed." Abby explained as Owen grasped the fact that he would now sleep during the hours of sunlight from now on. He did, however, enjoy thinking of the fact that he would be sleeping with Abby now all the time. It wouldn't be one of them going to the other's room. This would be their room and their bed from now on. They were really inseparable now.

After changing the sheets, Owen looked to the door anxiously. There were so many things he wanted to try out. Abby couldn't help but notice his excitement.

"So, what do you want to do?" She giggled.

"I don't know…Everything?"

"Take it easy. Some things take time to master. And don't forget, we have all the time in the world now." Abby laughed. She looked down and saw Owen was still in his socks from last night.

"Oh, take off your socks."

"Why?" Owen asked as he complied.

"You can't do any climbing or anything with socks on."

"Ok." Owen replied as Abby gathered up the empty blood bottles and packets. She also gathered up the items Owen would need to wash up with later and stepped to the door. "Well, are you coming?" She teased.

"I'm coming." Owen said, nearly bouncing with excitement. He took a breath and walked out the door and up the stairs to step into the air of the night that was now his element on this, the first night of his vampire life.


	7. Chapter 7

_Greetings, dear readers. Here's the chapter of Owen's first night out as a vampire. I think I can say, without a word of hyperbole, that it's the longest _Let Me In_ chapter I've ever done. Phew! It was a chore to write over three nights._

_There's not too much to say to preface the chapter, only that I hope everyone likes it. I tried to showcase some of the darker thoughts Abby has had in her life, if only to contrast it to the happy life she now has with Owen._

_Oh, I did think of something more to say. The conversation Owen and Abby have about how they could have cut their hands when they got off the train from Los Alamos and turned Owen is SPOILER ALERT how Abby/Eli turns Owen/Oskar in Lindquist's sequel/epilogue _Let the Old Dreams Die_. I thought it would be a good way to pay homage. (Incidentally, Lindquist said he actually did the epilogue for the simple reason that people were wondering what the fate of the two protagonists was to be. Was Owen/Oskar going to be the new caretaker? Lindquist's canonical fate for the two of them is that Owen/Oskar would be turned into a vampire so they could always be together. In the film's ending, Owen is looking out at the rising sun while eating his Now & Later's. When you factor in Lindquist's canon, you can see how it ties in. Owen is looking at the sunrise because he may know it'll be the last time he'll ever see it. The same with his Now & Later_ _candies. After that night, he wouldn't be able to have anymore. _

_FYI, Colin Clive is the actor who played Dr. Frankenstein in _Frankenstein _and _Bride of Frankenstein.

_I plan to do one more chapter for this story. It'll be a short one to tie up loose ends. Then, I was thinking of doing a page with some coming attractions: i.e. teasers for future Owen/Abby stories I have planned. _

_Speaking of future stories...I had a short one-shot Christmas story planned. The only problem is that it'll give away plot spoilers for future stories. If you still want me to try and do it, please let me know. :-)_

_Christmas is nigh. In lieu of presents or cards, please give me review. :-D LOL_

_And awayyyy we go._

_P.S. I plan to update again before Christmas. But if, on the off chance, I don't, I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas! :-)_

Eternally Bonded, Chapter VII

Owen tentatively walked up the stairs of the root cellar and paused at the heavy, outer door. He unlocked the deadbolt and put his hand on the latch. He paused a moment, his emotions mixed. He was anxious to see what the world of night looked like to him, now that he'd been turned into a vampire…but he was nervous and hesitant as well.

"Are you ok?" Abby asked from behind him.

"Yeah…No…I don't know." Owen admitted sheepishly. "It's just…If I step outside, this will all be real. I guess…I guess it's all hitting me now."

"Are you sorry it happened?" Abby asked in a voice that had the slightest tinge of fear in it.

"No." Owen said firmly. "I'm not sorry at all. Abby, I think…I think that I've wanted this since the day we left Los Alamos. I mean, I saw that old picture of you and Thomas together and I knew that if we were to stay together, I'd either end up an old man like him, or like this. And I knew from the start what choice I'd make. I wanted to be with you, like this. There was never anything else I wanted."

"Seriously?" Abby asked.

"Seriously. I think that as soon as I climbed out of the pool and saw you…I knew, deep down, this would happen. If you'd bitten me then and there, I'd have been fine with it. You could've turned me the night after we left when we got off the train, as far as I was concerned."

"You'd have wanted me to bite you right there in the train station?" Abby asked as her mind processed Owen's revelation of just how long he'd discerned what his eventual fate would be.

"Yeah, and I wouldn't have cared. You wouldn't even have had to bite me. We could even have cut our palms open and mixed the blood."

"Huh?"

"Oh, I thought that would've worked just as well you biting me. If…If you hadn't been forced to do it last night like you were, and we had planned it out instead, I thought we could have done that. It would've been, well, the two of us doing it together."

"That actually sounds, well, appropriate." Abby said as she thought about what that would have been like. It would have seemed…ceremonial. She and Owen would have taken that step together, rather than just her biting him like she'd bitten so many others over the long decades and centuries. It would have been almost akin to when they'd had made love together for the first time. It was an act of commitment the two of them had undertaken together.

"I'm glad you liked it."

"It would have been like…when we did it in your bed for the first time. We did that together. We should have turned you together."

"You think it would have been like when we have sex?"

"Well, it's kind of the same. They're both things I'd never have done with anyone else. They're both, I guess, ways we solidified what we have." Abby said as she tried to find the proper words.

"I never thought of it that way." Owen admitted.

"When will you learn I'm always right?" Abby asked with a smile.

"I don't know…But now I've got all the time in the world to learn it."

"Yes, you do. But tell me, if you were thinking for so long about being turned, why are you standing here looking like you don't know what to do next?" Abby asked with a raised eyebrow as Owen smiled at her.

"I have no idea." Owen replied with a smile. She was right. He'd wanted this since he crawled out of the pool and saw Abby there. Why was he getting uptight now that it had finally happened?

Owen turned the knob and pulled the door open. The warmth of a May evening wafted in the door. Owen inhaled, trying to place all the scents. He could smell the countless sheep the ranch raised, coming from the barns and paddocks. He could smell the grass from around the house which had been cut only the other day (a job he himself had done). He could smell the beautiful smell of the evergreen forests that bracketed the property. He could even smell some oil on the gravel by the garage. (It had been spilled two days prior when Oscar was changing the oil in his pick-up truck.) Behind him, Abby smiled to herself as she realized what sensations he was going through. She could well recall the seeming sensory overload when she was first turned. Of course, she was too terrified at the time to appreciate how sublime an experience it was.

Owen stepped out and looked around. It was like watching a movie supposedly set at night, but all the actors would be perfectly illuminated and clear to anyone watching them. He could see everything around him with perfect clarity, despite the darkness. He looked up and saw a myriad of stars shining down on him. He'd always loved to look at the stars here. He and Abby had passed many happy evenings, laying out by the river and looking up at the stars. There was no light pollution out here like there had been in Los Alamos, so the starlight was brilliant. Yet, he now felt like he'd never actually seen them before. He found them hypnotic. And his vision was now so sharp he could see details like never before. He could easily discern the differences between the various stars and the planets. He sensed the great vastness of the universe and wondered idly where he and Abby stood in the great scheme of things. For some reason, a favourite scene from one of his favourite movies came to his mind. It was the scene in _The Right Stuff, _when John Glenn was orbiting the earth and was awed by the beauty of the stars, space and the Earth, set to the music of Gustav Holst's "The Planets".

Abby stepped around her lover, who was staring up at the night sky, and walked around to the porch, where she placed the empty beer bottles by the steps. She noted the number and realized they'd have to replenish blood supplies more often from now on, as there were two of them feeding now. Two of them…she thought to herself. For so many years, Abby had been just one. Despite the degrees of closeness and friendship with her various human caretakers, Abby had always thought of herself as being alone in the world. Even after meeting Owen and them moving here, where Abby had become a part of the family, she still felt a certain inescapable degree of isolation –a very, very small degree, to be sure as she knew how much Owen and Oscar both loved and accepted her; but a degree nonetheless. It couldn't be avoided. As much as Owen loved her and accepted her, the fact remained that she was a vampire and he was not. Their nights were filled with loving warmth and passion, but as dawn approached she had to leave him to take shelter from the light. She was like Persephone, who always had to return to the underworld with the rotation of the year; she always had to go to ground with the coming of the day. She loved the life she had with Owen and Oscar, but always had to bear in mind that she was different from them. But now, Owen was like her. She was no longer alone as one of her kind. (She knew, of course, there were other vampires in the world, but the lack of familiarity with them made such knowledge irrelevant.)

But now, she and Owen were the same. They would never have to part at the coming of the dawn again. Abby smiled as she recalled how in _Romeo & Juliet_ –long her favourite of Shakespeare's works- the two protagonists were able to share their love at night, but forced to hide things away at coming of daybreak. As a fan of the play, she'd long ago noted the parallels with her and Owen (she'd even quoted the play in a note she'd written to him on a Now & Later wrapper). But now, she and Owen would no longer be forced apart at daylight. She also noted that at the end of the play Romeo and Juliet were united forever in death. Abby wondered if the parallel also extended to her and Owen. Were they dead? They were vampires –who according to some legends were simply reanimated corpses. She never felt like one, to be honest. Could the traditional title of "undead" actually be the most accurate description of her and Owen now? Abby shook her head, as if to clear it. This was heavy stuff to be thinking about when Owen was taking his –literal- first steps as a vampire.

She walked, along the side of the house, to Owen and found him where she'd left him. He was staring up at the night sky with a smile of wonderment on his face.

"Wow" Owen sighed.

"What do you mean, 'wow'?" Abby asked.

"The stars…They're so beautiful. I can't believe how clearly I can see them all now. It's almost…I almost feel like if I really looked hard enough I could make out the shapes of them all. Haven't you ever thought that?"

"No, not really, Owen. Our eyesight isn't that good." Abby said with an understanding smile. "It's just that you're comparing how you see things now versus how you saw before."

"I guess…I mean, I know how far away they are. I read once, back in science class, that the light we're seeing now is really old. Some are hundreds of years old; some are thousands of years old; others might be a million years old –it took THAT long to get here. Right now, my old science teacher said, light's being created that won't reach earth for those thousands of years…And you and I will be here when that light arrives. Doesn't it blow your mind sometimes?" Owen said in a quiet voice that was filled with awe.

"Not really. I never thought of it that way. Before I met you, the thought of living that long…upset me. I actually couldn't stand the idea of still being here after all that time."

"What do you mean?"

"I was tired, Owen, when I met you. You've said that you thought I looked tired those first couple of times you saw me in the courtyard? Well, I was tired and it wasn't just from not having fed. I think that all the years were finally starting to weigh heavily on me. You saw how Thomas looked? He was tired too. He told me that maybe he wanted to get caught and for it all to end. I can see what he meant now. Back then, I guess I couldn't –I was too caught up with having to feed. He'd been doing that for thirty years and he was at the end. I can't say I'm surprised. As for me…It had been my reality for about seven times as long as he had been living it. And I had started thinking…"

"Thinking about what?" Owen asked in a transfixed voice. Abby had never told him her own feelings of the ramifications of immortality.

"About how much longer I could last." Abby said quietly. "I knew Thomas was getting older. I started thinking that after Thomas died –from whatever reason- I wouldn't get another caretaker. I'd just…" She sighed with a heavy wave of emotion "I'd just maybe wait for the sun one morning, or force myself into a house where I wasn't invited, or even walk into a wall with a stake pointed at me." She finished as Owen's face reflected the implications of her words.

"Abby…How could you be thinking of that?" He said, aghast. The thought of her doing that to herself chilled him to his marrow.

"I could because I'd had over two hundred years of it, and I was starting to really think I couldn't handle one more night. And that's not a unique thought for vampires. Some really do get tired of it all –unless they're complete monsters, like my uncle, who enjoy the blood and death. I've heard of others who would do that as soon as they were turned. They realized what had happened to them and they simply couldn't face the prospect of living like that. I mean, I'm pretty sure that's why there aren't too many of us –at least compared to the human population. Many simply can't face it and destroy themselves. I guess it's a way our numbers are naturally kept low. There can't be too many of us, or we'd start to really cause trouble for the human race."

"Abby…Do you still ever think that?"

"No" Abby said with a reassuring smile. "I haven't thought of anything like that that since I met you and we moved here. I'm not tired anymore. Now, every night when I wake up, it's like there's something I can't wait to find. Now, when I wake up, I don't find myself wondering if I'll have to kill someone tonight to keep from starving. Now, I wake up and wonder what you and I are going to do together. You'll never have to do what I did and that's a blessing, but you'll never know the relief of NOT having to do it any longer. There's that; there's Grandpa and, of course, there's you. It's all why I don't feel that way any longer. I guess maybe now I am looking forward to seeing that starlight get here. Shakespeare referred to the future as 'the undiscovered country'. Well, Owen, you and I are going to explore that undiscovered country together." Abby finished with a smile as she caressed Owen's cheek.

"You love being poetic, don't you?" Owen said with a smile.

"You've just figured that out now?" Abby teased. "So…What do you want to start with?"

"I don't know. What's easy?"

"Running" Abby replied simply.

"How fast can I run now?" Owen asked. Abby just smirked at him in reply. Then, she seemed to be propelled, in almost a blur, across the yard to stand by a giant elm tree. Owen couldn't help but laugh –he was reminded of when he looked out his window in Los Alamos only to find that Abby was already back in her own apartment next door. Abby smiled back and, in a blink, was standing at his side again.

"About that fast, I should think." She replied to him.

"That's pretty fast." Owen commented wryly.

"You'll be able to do it too. There's no trick to it. Just…run. Your body will take care of everything else. Try going to the tree now."

"OK" Owen said tentatively. He looked at Abby who was giving him an encouraging smile, and he took off. For an instant he felt no different. Then, a sudden surge came from within him and he felt his limbs beginning to propel himself forward at amazing speed. Just then he looked up and realized the massive trunk of the gigantic elm was looming ahead of him. With a startled cry, Owen tried to stop. Overall, it was rather amusing as he frantically dug his heels into the grass. He looked more than a little like Fred Flintstone attempting to stop his car. At the last second, he fell over on his side and planted himself into the lawn. There was a sound like a whoosh and he pulled his head up to see himself staring at Abby's bare toes. He looked up and saw her looking down on him with a look of mild concern and even greater amusement.

"How'd I do?" He asked hopefully.

"Not too bad at all." Abby replied with a giggle. "You got the running part down pretty well…I think you do need to work on stopping though."

"The tree kind of snuck up on me."

"Really? I was watching and it didn't seem to be moving." Abby teased. "Don't forget to watch where you're going."

Owen reached down and tried to wipe some of the dirt and grass from his bare heels. "Can you run that way with shoes on?"

"Not really. You can run as fast, but I don't get nearly as much traction as I do without them. It's a lot easier to wipe out. I'm pretty sure most shoes wouldn't last long if we kept running as fast as we can now. They're not made to go that speed."

"Have you ever run that way with shoes on?"

"No. Like I said, I can't go as fast or feel as steady. But, I guess that running shoes haven't been around that long –relatively speaking. Shoes, when I was still had a need to wear them, weren't made for running."

"What were they made for then?"

"Do you mean shoes for girls? They were made to look pretty and be really uncomfortable to wear." Abby said with a roll of her eyes.

"You don't want to buy a pair of running shoes then?" Owen teased.

"Why waste the money?" Abby giggled. In truth, the only times Abby ever wore shoes of any description were rare. She wore them when they ventured into public in winter. She wore them once when she and Owen –on a blood gathering trip into Alberta- had gone into a regular movie theatre to see a film. (She felt that the theatre floor was too tacky even for her standards) And, she'd taken to wearing an old pair of rubber boots whenever they ventured into the sheep paddocks to do some work. (That was mainly because Abby had learned the hard way, an old rancher's adage: Watch where you step. After a few instances of having to wash sheep leavings off of her feet, Abby decided that it was less trouble to put on some boots for any work around sheep manure.) "Do you want me to start wearing shoes?" She asked curiously.

"No…I think you look really cute as you are." Owen said with a smile as he got to his feet. He looked down at himself. Grass stains and dirt now stained his clothing as well as all the blood. He was turning into a walking commercial for laundry detergent. He chuckled inwardly at the idea of a commercial for laundry products, showcasing vampires and the beatings they would put on clothing in an average night.

"Do you want to try running a distance now?" Abby asked after he'd finished trying to dust himself off.

"Sure. Where do we go?" Owen asked. Abby just grinned at him.

"You'll find out." She giggled. Then she gently smacked him on the arm. "You're it!" She laughed and took off. Owen was surprised but then launched himself after her.

Abby ran across the yard, making sure Owen was keeping up. As soon as he began to gain on her, she put on a further burst of speed that kept an even distance between them. She led them through the forest paths, up Deathdrop Mountain –which, she noted, was apparently a place local kids went to use as a make-out spot when it was the tobogganing off-season. A few times, they actually caused a bit of a breeze that ruffled the blankets of amorous couples. But, by the time they disturbed lovers looked up (on the rare times they actually noticed) Owen and Abby were long out of sight into the darkness. They skirted the properties of other ranches in the area and actually came to the outskirts for the town of Cold Creek, before turning back. Owen couldn't believe it. Cold Creek was ten miles from the ranch. When he and Abby arrived on a sleety March night in 1983, it had taken them almost three hours to walk to the ranch from the local train station. Now, they had covered an even greater distance –as they'd taken many twists and turns- in a matter of minutes. Owen's ears picked up a rumbling noise. Abby seemed to lead them towards it. Soon, Owen saw that they were running parallel to the railway tracks and up ahead of them was an Amtrak passenger train. Abby put on more speed and Owen followed. In no time at all, they'd overtaken the passenger train. The train's whistle shattered the night silence and ahead of them, Owen could see red lights beginning to flash as the train approached a level crossing at a road. Abby led them on to the crossing and then –after ensuring Owen was close behind- the two of them dashed over the crossing ahead of the train. So far as Owen could tell, the engineer had no idea that two vampires were racing his locomotive…and won.

Owen came to a stop as he realized something. Abby noticed it and came to a halt herself.

"What's the matter?" She asked as she noticed Owen starting to smile in amusement.

"The train…It was like that scene in _Superman_ when he's racing the train in Smallville." Owen said.

"I know. I kind of thought you'd appreciate that." Abby said with a smile of her own.

Owen noticed that he wasn't tired or winded in the least. It was incredible. They'd outrun a speeding locomotive and he felt like he'd just walked across the room. "Do we ever get tired?" Owen asked in amazement.

"Not from this; at least not when we've fed properly. If we haven't fed for a time, we can't run as fast or for as long. But, we don't get out of breath, if that's what you mean." She replied.

"Want to go back?" Owen asked.

"Sure"

"Good" Owen replied as he stepped past her and poked her arm. "You're it!" He laughed and took off like a shot.

"Oh no way!" Abby giggled as she started after him. In no time at all, they were back at the ranch. Abby led them to the back, where the stone pile was. She skidded to a stop and watched as Owen brought himself to a halt as well.

She looked about and found a large rock. She picked it easily and looked at it. Judging weight was terribly difficult for her due to how strong she was. However, she judged –based on its size- that the rock had to weigh at least two hundred pounds. She kept her back to Owen, so he wouldn't see the rock she had pressed close to her body and called out.

"Owen"

"Yeah?"

"Come here a second. I want to show you something."

"What?" Owen asked as he stepped close to her.

"This" Abby said simply and thrust the stone to his torso. Owen instinctively closed his arms around it and staggered a little. Its mass unbalanced him for a second as it did weigh far more than he did. However, almost instantly Owen realized that he was holding the large rock with no effort at all. A large grin spread over his face. To Abby, it looked like the grin he wore in the courtyard when she had spontaneously leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "How are you finding it?"

"It feels like it weighs nothing."

"Well, my guess is that it weighs at least two hundred pounds. So, with our strength that would be like nothing for us."

"Can we make ourselves stronger?"

"I don't know." Abby said thoughtfully as she contemplated the question. "We have to feed to keep up our strength. But, do you mean can we get stronger by lifting stuff like that Arnold guy in that stupid _Conan_ _the Barbarian _movie we saw?"

"Yeah, that's what I mean. And that movie was awesome!"

"Oh please."

"And I want to see that Arnold guy's new movie this fall where he plays some type of robot."

"The one you read about in _Starlog Magazine_? What's it called again, _The Exterminator_?" Abby asked resulting in this time Owen rolling his eyes.

"_The Terminator_ and it sounds wicked. I just wish he'd do some comedy. I think he would rock!"

"Again…oh please. What's he going to do? Make jokes as he rips people apart and blows them up?"

"Hey, that would be perfect!" Owen beamed enthusiastically. Abby sighed in response. She decided she simply had to increase her efforts to elevate Owen's cultural tastes.

"As I was saying…I don't know if we can make ourselves stronger like that. I've never tried it."

"I wonder how strong I am now?"

"Try that big rock; the one we dug up the other night." Abby said indicating a massive near-boulder that lay several feet away. Owen recognized it immediately. He scratched his head thoughtfully.

"Wasn't that one over there?" He asked in a puzzled tone as he recalled where they'd deposited it the night before last.

"Uh, yeah, I kind of needed something to throw at Jebediah last night." Abby said sheepishly.

"You threw that boulder at him?" Owen asked with wide eyes. "Did you hit him?"

"Yup" Abby replied with a grin. "I nailed him." She beamed proudly.

"How far did you have to throw it?"

"Not too far. I wanted to make sure of my aim." She saw Owen looking intently at the boulder. "You want to try throwing it, don't you?"

"Can I?"

"I don't see why not." Abby said with a smile. Owen crouched down and looked for places to get a good grip on it. "Are you sure you don't want to start with something smaller?"

"Nope, it's like what Yoda said about lifting Luke's X-Wing out of the swamp in _The Empire Strikes Back_: the size doesn't really matter." Owen said as he found a grip. He took a breath and then lifted the boulder cleanly off the ground. His face broke into a look of utter delight as he realized just how easy it was for him to lift it. "This is so…cool!" Owen laughed delightedly.

"So, what're you going to do with your rock now?" Abby asked as she giggled with delight at Owen's enthusiasm.

"Ah...Should I throw it?"

"Go ahead, if you want to." Abby said. In response, Owen –to his amazement- lifted the rock clean above his head, pressed off with his legs and propelled the massive stone a good fifteen feet, with it rolling about ten or fifteen feet further.

"Wow! Look how far I threw it!" Owen beamed proudly. He looked at Abby who was smiling approvingly at him.

"I see. Well done. In time, you'll be able to throw it even further."

"Why do you think I couldn't throw it further now?"

"I think that you're still holding on to some of your mental limitations. They can hold you back, but you'll get over them. It's like what Yoda said to Luke, you have to let go of what you once thought and unlearn what you have learned."

Abby…Do you think I'm as strong as you are?" Owen asked after a few minutes of thought.

"No, I don't think so."

"Why's that?"

"Well, with my…our kind, strength comes from our blood and how old it is. The older we get, the more powerful we become. I've over two hundred years of this, so my I think I'm always going to be a little stronger. I hope that doesn't…bother you."

"No…I don't mind. Not when it's you. What if we'd both been turned at the same time? What would happen then?" Owen asked. Abby simply shrugged.

"I don't know. I guess you might have been a stronger if you were stronger as a human."

"OK. I don't mind it like this though. It's just…fantastic." He looked over at Abby who was regarding him strangely. "What?"

"It's just hard to take in how you just seem to…enjoy this so much."

"Is that wrong?"

"No, of course not; I guess I'm just having a hard time comparing it to how I felt when I realized what I'd become."

"Maybe it's because of what it meant."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when you were turned by Jebediah, you told me you had to run from your home…your family…everything."

"That's right."

"So, you pretty much lost everything that meant anything to you. But for me…Being turned means that I'm like you now. It means we can be together forever now. That's what I've wanted most since I realized how much you mean to me. I wanted it since…Actually I think I wanted it even before the pool. I remember the morning after you left the complex. I was looking out at the playground where we met and I was wondering what I was going to do now that you'd left. I mean, before you came I was all alone and I wasn't happy…Not one bit. But, I guess I'd gotten so used to it, it didn't bother me any longer. When I was with you, though, it made me feel so good I knew I couldn't go back to the way it was before. All I wanted that minute was for you to come back to me. I thought that if you were to come back that night and tell me that I could come with you, but the only way was to become a vampire too, I wouldn't have waited a second before giving you my neck to bite. So, I guess I'm enjoying this so much because it's everything I dreamed of back then. I'm fast…I'm strong…And I've got you back." Owen explained.

"You mean that? You'd have given up everything you had if I'd come back to you?" Abby asked.

"Yes. Like I said, I didn't think I had anything really to give up back then, but I know that nothing else mattered but you…Sunlight, food, whatever…I knew that they weren't as important to me as you were."

"Leaving you then was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. It hurt worse than when I fled from Marshall Hall after I was turned. I knew you were watching me leave. But, I didn't dare look up. I knew that if I did, I'd lose it. I'd have flown right up to you and asked you to come with me."

"I'd have said yes. I wouldn't have cared what it meant. It wouldn't have been as bad as I felt when I thought I'd never see you again. I guess that's why I'm enjoying this so much. It means I'll never have to feel that way again." Owen said as he took Abby's hand in his own.

Abby just smiled at him in return and put his hand on her cheek. "So…What do you want to try out next?"

"Can we try flying?" Owen asked with a gleam of excitement in his eye.

"I sort of thought you'd want to do that." Abby laughed. "Alright, I think we've got enough time to try a little bit."

"Why won't we have enough time?" Owen asked in a puzzled tone. He was certain it wasn't anytime close to dawn yet. He looked at his left wrist where his watch would be and then recalled he'd left it on Abby's bedside table. "Is it that late already?"

"No. But, I can see from the clouds that it's going to rain later. There might be lightning and you never want to fly when there's lightning."

"Why?"

"Let me put it this way: do you remember when you said that you thought me coming into your old apartment wouldn't hurt me but might cause something cool like blue lightning, and I said that would hurt?"

"Yeah"

"Well, I can tell you that I can't say for certain about blue lightning…But I can tell you for a fact that being hit by regular white lightning does hurt…a lot."

"You were hit by lightning?"

"It was the first –and last- time I tried flying in a storm."

"How'd that happen?"

"Let's see…I was flying. There was a flash of lightning and the next thing I knew I was laying on the ground, kind of steaming, with scorched clothes, frizzy looking hair and a really bad headache. I never thought about being hit before."

"You didn't?"

"Nope" Abby said with a shake of her head. "You know how in your school, they told you stuff about not standing under trees during storms, or being in a high place?"

"Yeah"

"That wasn't taught –or really well known- when I was still being tutored. And trust me, it's good advice. The main thing to remember is you never want to fly in a storm. Lightning can't kill us…But it's a really unpleasant experience. It took about a week for my hair to look normal again."

"OK. So, we can try it out for an hour or two? Where can we go?"

"Where do you want to go?"

"Can we try it out by the river?"

"That sounds great." Abby replied with a smile as she and Owen started on the path that would lead them down to the riverbank.

Minutes later, the two young vampires came out from the forest path by the river. The water was moving very swiftly due to the spring run-off. A few days before, Owen had come down here and put his hand in the water to see how cold it was, and found it icy. His grandfather had explained to him that the river was fed from the melting snow up in the mountains and that a vast amount of the water volume had still be in the form of snow only a few weeks prior; hence the cold temperature. Owen well recalled from last summer that here in the Rockies, one really couldn't go swimming in any river or lake before late June.

He looked over at Abby. "How do we do this?" He asked.

"Here" Said Abby, as she stepped over to Owen. She took a hold of his upper arms and indicated he should hold her upper arms in the same manner. "Now, put your feet on top of mine." She instructed as Owen placed his bare feet atop hers. "That's right."

"And then?" Owen asked.

"This" Abby replied as she focused and then levitated the two of them off the ground. Owen wasn't unduly excited. He'd flown with Abby many times. But now, he was trying to discern just how to do it.

"OK. Owen, you need to concentrate. Just focus on keeping yourself up. I can't explain exactly how it works…I just know that's how it's done. Are you focusing?"

"Yes" Was Owen's whispered reply.

"Alright" Abby said as she slowly took her right foot out from beneath Owen's and placed it on top of his, followed by her left foot on top of his left foot. She noticed that Owen was so intent on focusing he didn't seem to notice…which was what she was counting on. For Abby's part, she didn't notice that they drifted out over the middle of the river. "Owen?"

"Yeah?"

"You're doing it."

"What?"

"You're keeping the two of us up. You're supporting me now."

Owen looked down and saw that Abby's bare feet were on top of his own and that he was indeed keeping them aloft. A wide smile came over his face and he opened his mouth to emit a cheer…apparently prematurely. In doing so, Owen lost his concentration…with a predictable result. He and Abby plummeted downwards. Due to the surprise and their low altitude, there was nothing Abby could do in time to stop them. Owen and Abby fell into the swift running river with a mighty splash.

A few seconds later, the two of them surfaced. Abby was more surprised than anything else, while Owen was irritated at himself for allowing his concentration to slip like that.

"That wasn't too bad." Abby giggled as she pushed her wet hair out of her eyes as she was treading water.

"Sorry" Owen said dejectedly as he swam over to her.

"Don't worry about it. You did great for your first time."

"I got us wet."

"So?"

"I shouldn't have…Hey!"

"What?"

"The water…It doesn't feel cold. I mean, I can feel that it's cold but it's like…I don't feel it."

"That's how temperature affects you now. Like I said in Los Alamos, I don't get cold. And neither will you now."

"This is great! We can swim now all year if we want to!"

"Sure. Do you want to call it a night with practice and just swim a little?"

"Oh yeah! Hey…How long can we stay underwater now?" Owen asked with a wondrous look on his face.

"I've never timed it. Do you want to find out?" Abby asked. Owen just smiled in reply and dove under the water. Abby tried to track his movements under the water, but found it was difficult even with her enhanced vision, due to the swift current and the natural distortion caused by the water. Just then, she felt a tugging from below her and was pulled down briefly -Abby momentarily thought of the opening scene of _Jaws_; another movie that both she and Owen greatly enjoyed. She popped up again with a mixed look of indignation and amusement on her face. Six feet away, Owen also resurfaced.

"Owen." She said with an arched eyebrow. Owen's only response was to offer a salacious grin and hold up Abby's jeans and underwear in his hand.

"I can also see in the dark underwater. I never could before. You looked beautiful underwater, Abby. It's like you're cast in a blue light." Owen said with a dreamy smile. He swam to the riverbank and tossed Abby's clothing on the bank. He stood up and peeled off his own sodden t-shirt and then removed his own jeans and underwear, before diving back into the water and swimming over to Abby. "I, uh, thought it'd be easier to swim without our clothes on." He grinned at her.

"I can see that." Abby said with a giggle. She looked down at her t-shirt which was coming apart from all the tears being pulled at by the swift current. "Do you want to see if you're strong enough to rip my shirt off?" She teased. Owen needed no second invitation. He grabbed her shirt and tore it into bits like it was made of tissue. "You're such a powerful vampire." She said playfully as she gave Owen a quick kiss and then dove back into the deep water as she and Owen resumed their game of tag.

Sometime later, the pair swam to a large rock in the middle of the river and climbed out of the water to sit on it. Abby pushed her wet hair back and looked up at the sky. The sky was definitely clouding over, but the moon was still visible. It was almost full and provided brilliant light on the river. Although they didn't need it to see, they recognized that they were both clearly visible sitting on the mid-river rock.

"The moon's so beautiful tonight." Abby mused as she looked at it.

"It's a good thing that the land here is part of the ranch. I can't imagine what anyone would say if they saw us here."

"What? That a couple of kids are sitting on a rock in the middle of a freezing river in the middle of the night? Or that we're both totally naked?"

"Take your pick." Owen laughed as he put his arm around Abby's bare, wet shoulder and pulled her close. "The moon is really nice tonight. Say, I just thought of something."

"What?"

"How come moonlight doesn't hurt us?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the moon itself doesn't give off any light. I learned that back in science class. Moonlight is just sunlight reflected back. How come sunlight during the day can harm us, but when it's reflected off the moon at night it doesn't?"

"I have no clue Owen. I never even thought of that." Abby said with a thoughtful look on her face.

"Really?"

"Really. You're always the one who thinks of these things." Abby said with a grin. "I'm actually glad I never thought of it before. When I was first turned, I might have been afraid of moonlight as well as sunlight."

"If werewolves existed, it'd be funny that they'd be turned by reflected sunlight." Owen started to laugh until he caught a look on Abby's face. A thought crossed his mind. "Abby…Do werewolves exist?"

"Yes Owen, they exist. I don't know too much about them, but they exist. Werewolves and vampires don't interact much."

"Are they enemies, or something?"

"No. But think about it…Werewolves only change –so far as I know- at full moon. Any other time, they can live normal lives if they want. Us…We're bound to the night and to the hunger. They're just…different. Let me see…OK, let me put it to you this way: we're DC and werewolves are Marvel."

"Ah, I get it now." Owen said with a nod.

"Let's not talk about that anymore. We're having too much fun." Abby didn't feel like doing a discourse on the fact that vampires were, by far, not the only mythical supernatural beings that actually existed.

"I know I am" Owen said with a salacious grin on his face. He cast his eyes downwards. Abby looked and saw that, despite the near-freezing river water, Owen was aroused.

"Well, I guess that taking a cold shower won't work anymore." Abby laughed.

"Nope" Owen said as he looked down at the rock they were sitting on. Abby read his mind instantly –not that it took a great deal of deductive reasoning to discern what his thoughts were.

"It's too hard here, Owen; how about on the riverbank?" She said with a smile.

"Race you." Owen replied as he dove into the water. Abby followed. Seconds later, they'd climbed out of the water where their clothes were. "I didn't know this would happen."

"I didn't either." Abby laughed. "I guess you're not complaining."

"What do you think?" Owen said as he took Abby in his arms and they lay down in the cool spring grass together.

Sometime later, Owen and Abby were walking back to the house. Their still wet clothes were draped over their arms and they were holding hands. Abby was thinking of their recent lovemaking. She wasn't one hundred percent certain, but she thought it had lasted a LOT longer than their other times. She had nothing to compare it to, as Owen was the only lover she'd ever had. She had no clue if other vampires could last as long as he just had. All she knew was that a lot of time had passed. The sky was now clouded over and the first sprinkles of rain were beginning to fall. They reached the yard and walked over towards the house. Owen made a short detour to the spot where Jebediah had met his end. He seemed to kneel down, as if to get a closer look. Abby wasn't certain but it looked like he picked something off the ground and put it in the pocked of his jeans. She was about to ask him about it when the clouds opened up and a warm but hard spring rain began to fall. Oh well, she thought, at least she and Owen were already wet. Just then, he spoke to her.

"You look so pretty, in the rain, Abby."

"Aw thanks." She said as she turned to face him and then noticed something. Owen…was turned on again.

"Isn't it cool?"

"We just finished maybe five minutes ago."

"I know." He replied with an absolutely goofy grin on his face. Abby shook her head in mock horror.

"What am I going to do with you Owen?"

Owen was already sitting down in the wet grass and was gently pulling Abby down on top of him. "I have an idea."

"I'll bet." Abby replied as she kissed him while beginning to straddle him.

Sometime even later, Owen and Abby stood by the porch overhang, using the garden hose, in conjunction with the still driving rain to shower off. Abby was shampooing her hair as Owen lathered her back. He then took the hose nozzle and rinsed her off. He rubbed some shampoo into his own hair and then turned so Abby could do his back for him.

"You're right. The cold hosewater doesn't bother me at all now." Owen noted.

"I told you so."

"Hey. It just occurred to me. When I can go back in the house, this is all I'll ever have to use the bathroom for anymore: taking a shower, well, that and using the sink. I won't have to use the toilet anymore."

"That's right." Abby replied. "So, where will you go to read now?" She asked with a teasing giggle.

"Hey, I'm not that bad." Owen replied indignantly

"Oh please. I've been to small towns where the libraries don't keep as many books on the shelves as you and Grandpa keep next to the toilet." Abby said with a roll of her eyes.

"And?" Owen asked as he clearly didn't see what was wrong with that. Abby just sighed and shook her head with a loving smile. She then turned her head and looked towards the east, gauging the time.

"We've got about an hour until dawn, Owen." Abby said.

"The night really went by fast."

"We were very busy." Abby said, eliciting a chuckle from Owen.

"Yeah, we ran into town and back. We threw some boulders around. Had a first flying lesson that turned into a swim and –oh yeah- we had sex three times."

"I still can't believe you were ready to go a third time so soon." Abby said with a dreamy shake of her head. In truth, she'd enjoyed it every bit as much as Owen did.

"I can't believe it either. I am now certain I'm going to love being a vampire." Owen said with salacious giggle.

"I feel like a female Colin Clive: I've created a monster." Abby laughed as she rinsed off Owen's back. Owen crouched down, took one of Abby's feet and began to rub it gently with a soft brush, at the same time gently caressing the sole with his fingers.

"Do you think you should've turned me before now?" Owen asked absently as he finished one of Abby's feet and turned his attention to her other one. Abby gasped in pleasure and bit down on her lip as he did so. He'd learned that this was something she really enjoyed, so he did it for her all the time when they showered.

"No" She said without any hesitation as he finished with her feet and stood upright again.

"Why's that? I can do all these things now."

"Like I told you before, Owen, I wanted you to be sure this was what you wanted. I know it's what you said, but I had to be sure. And, I'll admit…There was a reason I wanted to wait a while too."

"What was that?"

"I like how you've grown since we met." Abby said as she looked up at Owen. He was at least a head taller –likely even more- than he was at their first meeting and had gotten far bigger shoulders and arms from all the work he'd done around the ranch. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. "I just…I like how you're tall now; you're my man." She said with a smile as she rubbed her palms over his bare chest as Owen smiled at her.

The eastern sky was beginning to lighten when Owen and Abby descended down into their cellar bedroom. Owen looked east before he went down. The rain was still pouring down and the sky was completely clouded over, but he could still make out that light was gathering to the east. He felt something within him. It was an incessant voice telling him that he had to take shelter from the coming light. Owen marveled again at this new life he now had. He shut the main door, locked it, and followed Abby into their room.

Abby was looking in a small wall mirror, brushing her hair as Owen stepped in the room and shut the door behind him. He picked up a damp cloth and wiped off the soles of his feet, as Abby did before getting into the bed. He smiled as he saw that Abby had brought down his toilet kit from the upstairs bathroom. He applied some deodorant and set about combing his damp hair.

"Abby" He said after about minute.

"Yeah?"

"I was thinking about something."

"What?"

"Well, you said that you and your uncle had a link because he turned you. Is that right?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Well…I was thinking that you and I have that same sort of link now, don't we? We have a bond because you've turned me." Owen said thoughtfully. Abby smiled as she listened to his words.

"Yes, Owen. You're right. We're bonded now. We're eternally bonded. We'll be able to...sense…each other when we're apart. Not that I plan for us to ever be apart." She said with a smile.

"We're like…Luke and Darth Vader in _Return of the Jedi_?"Owen asked with a smile.

"I hope a little better." Abby giggled back. Owen's face grew thoughtful for a minute.

"Abby…There's something else I thought of. Did you ever watch any of those Hammer Dracula films or the show _Dark Shadows _on television?"

"No. I think you can guess that I never found stuff like that entertaining at all."

"I didn't think so. But, I asked you that for a reason."

"What's that?"

"Well, in those films, whenever Dracula or Barnabas Collins turned a girl he liked into a vampire, they said he was making her his bride."

"Uh-huh"

"Well…I was wondering if it worked both ways. When a girl vampire turns a guy she likes, does that make him her husband?" Owen said with a nervous, shy smile as he awaited her answer.

A smile broke over Abby's face. "Yes…I think it would. Mind if I ask why you want to know?"

Owen's face began to show a bit or relief. "I thought that, well, since you turned me and you said we're bonded now…Do you think that might mean we could be considered to be married?" Owen asked with a nervous look.

Before he could say another word, Abby was right next to him with her arms around his neck and her naked body pressed against his. Joy radiated from her face.

"Yes! Yes, I definitely think we could consider that…You…You want that?"

"I want it almost more than anything. Abby, you asked before if I had any regrets about what's happened. I don't think I can call it a real regret because there's nothing we could have done about if even if I hadn't been turned, but…I'm sorry we could never officially get married."

"You'd have wanted to marry me?"

"There's nobody else I ever could have wanted. But, at our age –well, the age we look now- I don't think we can; at least not legally. So, you turning me…I think that's the best we could do." Abby smiled and nodded her head.

"I think it's perfect and it's fitting." Abby said as she gave him a kiss. "Wow, talk about a change?"

"What do you mean?"

"Last night…When I realized it was Jebediah and he was coming, I wasn't sure if we'd make it. And now, I'm your wife…Your wife. I really like the sound of that."

"I like it too." Owen said into Abby's soft blonde hair. He felt a wave of desire wash over him again, only not as strong as before. A puzzled look crossed his face. Abby instantly figured out what was happening.

"It's close to dawn, Owen. The sleep instinct is starting to kick in." Abby said as she led him over to the bed.

"Does that mean we can't do it now?"

"We could try…But I really don't think it'd be good. I mean, I don't think you'd enjoy it that much and neither would I. I know I'm not in the mood usually as the cycle is starting. I promise you that it'll be the first thing we do when we get up tonight." Abby said with a seductive smile.

"Cool" Owen beamed. He then reached over to his side of the bed, followed by her's, and proceeded to tuck the sheets in up to chest level. Abby watched with interest. Over the last year, she'd noticed that Owen had a quirk about his sheets. He liked to tuck them in up to chest level and then –when getting into bed- he sort of folded himself under the covers. (Abby could never quite understand why. To her, it was less like getting into bed than stuffing oneself into an envelope.)

"Comfy?" She asked sarcastically after he'd folded himself into the bed.

"I'm just waiting for you." Owen said with a smile. Abby giggled and climbed into her side of the bed and scooted over to him. "This is a first time, you know." Owen said. "We don't have anything between us now. There are no walls…no doors…no need to use Morse Code." He explained with a smile.

"I know. We're going to bed together for the first time."

"I already like it down here." Owen said as he gave her a kiss.

"I already like having you here." Abby replied as she returned the kiss. "Now just relax, the sleep instinct will just kick on its own and…" Her voice trailed off as she looked over at Owen. He was already asleep.

Abby smiled and reached over and turned off the reading light on the bedside table. The room fell into darkness as Abby spooned herself against Owen, wrapped his arms around her midsection and drifted off into her own sleep cycle. Her last thought before sleep claimed her, as she lay beside her…husband… was that now she knew she'd never be alone again.


	8. Chapter 8

_Greetings dear readers._

_Well_, _this is the end of "Eternally Bonded". This chapter has a different feel than Chapter VII. That was the emotional climax of the story. This is mainly to tie up some loose ends and to give some teasers for upcoming plotlines._

_The scene in the funeral parlour is a direct homage to Stephen King's _Salem's Lot.

_I also put in a Deleted Scene that was done mainly for laughs, based on the idea of Owen and Oscar having some man-to-man talk._

_I'd love to hear what everyone thinks of the Coming Attractions and if anyone has any suggestions/requests for upcoming events._

_I do hope to do my Christmas one-shot. (It would be set at Christmas of 1984 and follow a plot-thread from Chapter VII.) If I fail to get it up, Merry Christmas._

_As for reviews...You all know how I feel about them. Please don't make me beg. LOL_

Eternally Bonded, Chapter VIII

**Cold Creek Montana, May 1984**

A bright, spring, full moon shone down on the second week of May 1984. In rural communities across North America, farmers tended their newly planted crops. In the small Maine town of Tarker's Mills, Reverend Lester Lowe, awakens from an unholy nightmare where the entire congregation of his Baptist Church has turned into werewolves during his Homecoming Sunday sermon. He prays for forgiveness for having had such a superstitious dream. The morning of that Homecoming Sunday though, Reverend Lowe enters his church to find that Clyde Corliss, his longtime janitor, has been ripped apart all over the pulpit. The full moon brings no light to Tarker's Mills as its dark year continues.

Thousands of miles to the west, in the Rocky Mountain town of Cold Creek Montana, the night of the full moon brought about another dark event that was as fully steeped in superstition and legend as those in Maine.

In small building off of the main street, was Foreman's Funeral Parlour. It gleamed with white paint in the last rays of the day's sunshine as the sun's orb began to slip beneath the horizon. Down in the cellar preparation room, Tom Foreman the son of the owner and heir apparent was setting about his work. He was a pleasant young man who dreamed of becoming a professional bowler one day. He felt no animosity towards his father, who wanted him to go into "the family business". Indeed, he saw nothing wrong per se with the family business. However, if he had to choose between throwing a ball down an alley at a set of ten pins, and being around both dead bodies and weeping mourners all day…Well, he termed that a no-brainer. He closed the cover his bowling magazine, drank off the last of the Coke he'd been drinking and mentally set out his tasks for the evening.

The body of Sally Lawton had been brought back that afternoon from Missoula where it had been taken for a post-mortem, following her violent death in front of the Lion's Club earlier in the week. Tom would've attended her earlier, but he had met a friend over at the alley in Wolf Creek and they'd bowled a frame. He thought nothing of it at the time. This evening's task wasn't terribly hard and shouldn't take more than an hour, or so. He looked over at the wall and saw that the clothes the Lawton family had picked out for burial were hanging on the wall. Tom nonchalantly picked them up and walked over to the worktable where Sally Lawton's draped body lay.

He pulled back the sheet and sucked in his breath. Her eyes were open and seemed to be staring up at him. The fact the eyes were open wasn't really the issue. That happened from time to time and wasn't that unusual -not that it didn't give one near heart failure when you first saw it though. It was the fact that eyes seemed terribly vital and full of life. It was like…they were watching him. Tom shook his head as if to rid it of such thoughts. He'd lost any nervousness about this workplace years ago, when he worked here part-time in high school. As his father said, it was their job and that was it. Over time, Tom found that the morbid nature of the work was something he no longer noticed. He even found himself laughing at new employees getting creeped out when handling the bodies and whatnot. Yet…He now found himself feeling that same sort of nervousness. He reached down and closed the eyes and turned to get the first item of clothing. He turned back and nearly screamed. The eyes were open again and still possessing that eerie lifelike appearance. Fuck, that is weird; he thought. After dressing the body, he'd have to go get some mortician's gum to seal them shut. It was supposed to be a closed casket service, but for some reason he did not want those eyes open. They seemed to be following him and he did NOT enjoy that at all. He swore he'd never mention this to anyone. After all, he razzed the new guys so much about them being nervous he knew he'd never hear the end of it if word got out about him feeling…scared? Yes, he admitted to himself, he felt scared down here.

Suddenly deciding that he wanted to finish the night's job and get out of here as soon as possible, Tom hurried through his work. It was perhaps his haste to finish, or maybe simply he was so freaked out by the open eyes of Mrs. Lawton –who he'd spoken with hundreds of times over the years- that he failed to notice something that otherwise would've grabbed his attention. The wounds on her throat that had been the ones causing her death…were no longer visible.

Tom finally finished dressing Sally Lawton and turned back to look at the body –forcing himself to not look at her eyes. Goddamn, he thought, that is strange. She's been dead three days now, but the eyes look alive. And, they're so…deep. You could just stare into them forever, Tom thought to himself. He placed his hand to his own eyes to block out Sally's and looked at the rest of her face. Again, he noted how strange it was. Her face didn't look at all like a body three days cold. In fact, she didn't look dead at all. She looked like she was about to wake up and sit up. For some reason, Tom felt a shiver at that thought. He decided that her appearance would at least mean he wouldn't have to use any make-up on the face. (His father wanted to do that even on closed casket services because sometimes the family wanted to have a last look, and his dad felt they deserved a good one.) He decided that all he would have to do was use some gum (a lot of it) on the eyes and then just place the body into the casket.

He turned to cross the room, to go to the supply cabinet, but then paused. He decided he didn't like the face staring at him like that, and covered the body again with the sheet. Tom crossed the room and got the jar of mortician's gum from the shelf. He turned back and his breath caught in his throat.

Sally's hand and fallen down from below the sheet. Tom took a breath. He knew that rigor mortis had left the body by now, so this could happen. He still didn't like it one tiny bit. Tom mentally decided that he was going to stop and get a few beers on the way home to try and wind down from what should have been a quiet night.

That was when Sally's fingers began to move.

Tom screamed a horrid cry as her fingers began to dance spasmodically in the air. The sheet began to tremble as the body beneath it started to move.

"Oh my Christ…Am I seeing this?" Tom wailed to nobody in particular.

"Joe?" A voice sounding like broken crockery sounded from beneath the sheet. "Joe? Where are you darling?"

"Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…" Tom began numbly. His mind had stopped working. He was too transfixed to run, even though his back was to the ajar door, or to do anything other than mumble a passage of scripture he'd been taught in Sunday School years before.

That was when two things happened. The lights went out and an immensely strong blow hit Tom on the head, collapsing him to the floor like a marionette whose strings were cut.

Owen stepped out from behind Tom's fallen body and regarded the figure sitting up on the table. He cast a glance down at the floor. He hoped he'd done that right. He'd been attempting to hit the man with enough force to render him instantly unconscious, but without causing any permanent damage.

"Abby?" He called urgently. They had hoped to arrive before Mrs. Lawton arose, but no luck. Owen pulled on a pair of thick work gloves from his pocket and pulled out a silver chain from a pouch he wore. As she was awake, it was now time for Plan B.

There was a whoosh of air and Abby stood beside him. She regarded Mrs. Lawton sadly. On the table, the newly risen vampire pulled the sheet down from its face, revealing dark, hypnotic eyes and sharp white teeth. She caught sight of Owen and Abby, and hissed angrily as she sensed instantly that they were not prey but others of her own kind.

"Where's Joe?" She growled in that harsh voice.

"He's not here, Mrs. Lawton." Abby said plainly. "It's just us…and we're here to help you."

Sally Lawton just laughed hungrily and stepped off the table towards the sprawled figure of Tom Foreman, who was still lying on the floor. She obviously didn't regard the two youthful vampires as a threat, or was simply too caught up in the hunger and presence of prey to pay heed to them. It would be her first, last and only mistake as a vampire.

Owen shot around her, holding the silver chain in his hands that were protected by work gloves. He wrapped the chain around Sally's neck and pulled back. She screamed as the silver dug in and burned her throat. She tried to fight, but she'd not yet fed while Owen had fed right before that dawn. As well, in her life she was a woman past the age of sixty while Owen's before his turning had been a fit and strong teenager. As a result he was far stronger and she was no match for him. Owen effortlessly pulled her back towards the mortician's table.

Abby stepped forward and pulled something from the waistband of her jeans. It was a wooden stake. She took it in her right hand and came upon the struggling vampire.

"I am truly sorry, Mrs. Lawton, about this. I'm sorry my uncle did this to you and I'm sorry we have to do this to you now. Please believe us though, this is for the best." Abby intoned softly. She stepped forward and brought the stake down swiftly into Sally's chest.

Blood exploded from the chest. Sally Lawton let out a scream that seemed to shake the walls of the workroom before settling back down on the table. Owen noted that her face now resembled the pictures he'd seen of her in some of his grandfather's albums of local events. He sighed heavily.

"Is it over?" He asked.

"Yeah" Abby replied simply.

"Shouldn't we do…I don't know…Something more?"

Abby shook her head in the negative. "We could, but it'd look funny afterwards." She gestured towards Tom's prostrate form. "You take him outside. I'll get started here, and then a check to make sure there's nobody else in the building."

Owen complied as Abby did her check. She found there was no other living being in the building. She returned to the work room and saw that Owen had returned.

"I'll handle the gas line. Can you do the light cord?"

"No problem." Owen replied.

Owen walked over to the cord that connected a standing work lamp to a wall socket. He bent down and began to pick at the cord with one of his fingernails –that now had shaped itself into a sharp looking talon. In no time, he'd reached and exposed bare electrical wires. He knew that if the power was still working, the line would spark easily.

In the meantime, Abby walked over to where the hot water tank was connected to the natural gas line. She found the main pipe and pressed hard with her immensely strong hands. Soon an ominous hissing sound emanated from the pipe and an overpowering odour of natural gas began to fill the room. She stood up from where she'd been crouched and looked over at Owen.

"Let's go." She said simply.

The two vampires swiftly went upstairs, shutting the work room door after them. They stopped by the back door, where Tom lay, still –mercifully- out cold. Owen picked him up effortlessly in a fireman's carry. He smiled as he and Abby stepped out the door. She noticed it as they shut the door behind them.

"What?" She asked as she noted his smile.

"I feel like Johnny Gage."

"Who's that?"

"He was a character from my favourite show when I was younger, _Emergency_. He was a fireman. I watched that show every Saturday night." Owen said as he recalled simpler times. Abby smiled back as he explained it.

The two vampires stood in the shadows for about five or ten minutes, checking their watches periodically. Finally Abby nodded. "OK. That should be enough time."

"Do you want me to go to the pole?"

"No. Just put him in the parking lot. I think that twenty feet from the door should be fine."

"Gotcha" Owen replied.

Abby flew up to a nearby pole that provided electricity to the funeral home. Opening a circuit box, she flipped back the handle she'd thrown earlier, restoring electricity to the funeral home. In the work room, the light cord sparked into the room saturated with natural gas. The Foreman Funeral Parlour exploded in a ball of fire.

* * *

><p>"How is he?" Bill Gillespie asked, as he gestured towards Tom Foreman. The funeral worker and aspiring professional bowler was sitting on the running board of a fire engine with a glassy look on his face as an ambulance attendant carried out a secondary examination of him. Gillespie's question was aimed at the forty-ish man who'd just stepped away from Tom.<p>

"Concussion and what appears to be shock." Doctor John Cody replied. "We'll take him to the clinic and keep him overnight for observation, but he should be fine in a day or two."

"That's good to hear." Gillespie said. "Hi Tom" Gillespie said to the man who'd been found sprawled unconscious in front of the now blazing funeral home. "Can you tell me what happened?" He asked as he pulled his police notebook from his hip pocket.

Tom pulled the blanket he had around his shoulders even tighter. "I…I don't know. I was down in the work room, getting Mrs. Lawton ready for her service. And then…And then I woke up with Doctor Cody shining a light in my eyes."

"You don't remember anything?"

"No" Tom said sadly. He hoped they'd believe him. He couldn't tell them. How could he? They'd never believe him –the open eyes, the moving hand…the voice. He didn't believe it himself.

"You were lucky there, Tom." A new voice spoke. Tom looked up and saw Oscar Alfredson looking at him with concern…and something else. "I mean, the firemen said that the explosion and fire seemed to be caused by a leaking gas line."

"Leaking gas?"

"That's right. You know…I read that when people breathe in gas like that it can have a weird effect. It can cause them to imagine things. They see things that aren't there at all…Just figments of their imagination." Oscar said with a fatherly smile and pat on the shoulder with nodding his head in the affirmative with a barely noticeable movement.

"Yeah" Tom said as he absorbed what Oscar said and his face brightened. "That must be it. I must have been breathing the gas down there and come up here." He looked back at the fire. "I guess I got up just in time."

"That appears to be the case. I'll bet you got your concussion when the explosion happened."

"How else could it have happened?" Tom said with a look of immense relief on his face. "I mean, I don't remember anything. But, what else could it have been?" He asked as he looked at Chief Gillespie.

Gillespie looked between Tom and Oscar, with a puzzled expression. He could tell from the spot that the blow to Tom's head was definitely not self-inflicted. Plus, he'd been definitely out cold when they found him. So, Gillespie didn't believe Tom was lying about anything. And Oscar was with him with the explosion happened. He'd dropped by the office an hour before, and the two had gone to get dinner at the local café. They were having their dessert when the explosion took place and had gone over together. Gillespie looked at the muscular, older rancher.

"Well, Oscar, I think I'm going to be tied up here for a few more hours. Do you want to stick around, or head on home?"

"I guess I'll head home."

"I'll walk you to your truck." Gillespie said as the two walked up the street to where Oscar's pick-up truck was parked. Gillespie noted a heavy, old-fashioned steamer trunk sitting on the flatbed.

"That's a nice, solid looking trunk you have there."

"Oh, thanks…I, ah, was going to see about replacing a hinge and brought it along so I could compare them at the hardware store. But, I forgot when we went to the café."

"Oh. Still…That's a nice looking trunk. They don't make them like that anymore.

"They sure don't."

"That a family heirloom, or something?"

"It is now." Oscar said with a sly smile as he got into the cab and started the engine.

* * *

><p>"Ok Joe…The service will be the day after tomorrow, with the urn then...Yes, you're right. The important thing is the Foreman boy wasn't badly hurt. No…Sally definitely wouldn't have wanted that. Ok Joe…I'll call you tomorrow. Good night." Oscar said as he hung up the phone and turned to face his grandchildren who were seated on the couch in the living room.<p>

"Well, they found what was left of Sally's body. There was almost nothing left."

"Can they tell what happened?" Owen asked.

"No" His grandfather shook his head. "The body was too badly burned. It was practically cremated already. They thought that any other damage was done with the ceiling collapsed."

"Is Mr. Lawton alright?" Abby asked sadly.

"He's a little upset, since they can't see Sally one last time like they planned before the funeral. Not to mention, they'd planned on having a casket. But, he said that the most important thing is that Tom Foreman wasn't badly hurt. He said that Sally would have been glad that nobody was hurt and he feels that way too. So…You two did very well. You made sure nobody was badly hurt." Oscar said. He felt relief at the outcome and glad he'd been able to play his part. Owen and Abby, that morning, had placed the trunk in the bed of the truck and gone to sleep at dawn inside of it. Oscar had driven them into town that afternoon. The plan had been for them to get to the funeral home before Sally awoke -with Owen bringing the silver chain in case of something going wrong. They'd briefed Oscar ahead of time on their plan to -reluctantly- destroy the building after making sure to get everyone out. Thus, Oscar had been ready to come up with his little talk to Tom.

"I was worried about the fire, but it was the only way to destroy the body for sure and to cover up what we did."

"How come, well, she rose like that?" Owen asked.

"I'm not sure. I think it was because she'd been, well, dead for a few days. I think that it takes a time for her mind to start working again. She was dangerous, Owen. Her instincts, I'm sure, would have drawn her back to her home. She'd have preyed on her own family. I've seen vampires who are turned like in that manner do that: her children…her grandchildren…They'd have been just blood to her." Abby said.

"I can't imagine what it would have been like, to wake up like she did." Owen murmured as he lifted his mug of blood to his mouth. Abby was insistent that he keep overfeeding until he adjusted to his new state –and to definitely make sure he had a supply on hand when interacting with Oscar. Abby just smiled and reached over across the sofa and took her hand in his and smiled at him.

Oscar looked at his grandchildren –one by blood, one by choice, but both by love- and smiled to himself. Abby's uncle had caused turmoil in the town and cost his best friend his wife. Oscar would always feel sorrow at that. However, he couldn't help but be thankful that his family was intact. His grandson now was…different…but was still his grandson. Love knew no bounds. His family, though unusual, was still his family.

**DELETED SCENE**

_This is a funny scene between Oscar and Owen I thought of, but couldn't find a way to work it in smoothly anywhere. You, the readers, can insert it anywhere you like, anytime after Chapter VII. I thought that after learning that Owen and Abby now regard themselves as being married, Oscar would sit Owen down to try and impart some (grand)fatherly wisdom. LOL Or, in other words, I thought it would be funny if Owen and Oscar had a guy talk. :-D_

"And another thing, Owen" Oscar said as he sipped at his coffee. "When you ask her if there's something wrong, and she says there isn't, what do you do?"

"Well…nothing." Owen said as he took a drink of O-Positive from his mug. "There's nothing wrong."

"Wrong!" His grandfather said. "If a girl tells you there's nothing wrong, you can bet anything you want there IS something wrong. And if we don't pick up on that, there'll be even more wrong…with us!"

"Why don't they just tell us?" Owen asked is a wondrous voice. After telling his grandfather that his blood union with Abby, when she'd turned him, meant they now regarded themselves as husband and wife, Oscar had taken Owen aside to impart his words of experience. As Oscar put it, he'd had more than forty years of happily married living…and had lived to tell about. As a result, it was his duty to pass his hard won experience on to Owen.

"HA! Oh, my boy…You're so naïve. For them to tell us what's wrong, it would make it too easy for us. We're expected to guess."

"How're we expected to guess?"

"How should I know? I could never figure it out with your grandmother. I think we're expected to read signs somehow."

"But…What if she doesn't give any signs?"

"She will. We won't know what they are, or have a clue what to look for, but she will. Are you getting all this?"

Owen made a notation on the notepad he had on the table. "Yup"

"Good. What's next? Oh yes, this is VERY important. If you're ever asked how an outfit looks on her, what do you say?"

"That she looks beautiful!"

"That's right…But, and here's the crucial part, timing is important."

"It is?"

"Yes! If you wait too long, she'll think you're trying to come up with an answer to sugarcoat something. If you answer too fast, she'll think you're not listening. You take two seconds, NEVER any longer, to give your answer." Oscar said solemnly as Owen wrote notes furiously.

"You miss Grandma a lot, don't you?" Owen said quietly. His grandfather just put his hand on his shoulder.

"More than you can ever know. Owen, I think you can be grateful that it's something you or Abby will never have to experience for yourself." Oscar said sadly as he recalled his late wife.

**Coming Attractions**

_Here are some scenes and lines I have planned for future stories. I guess they can be considered spoilers. They're not in any particular order._

"Bill Gillespie was just here. He got a call today from the police down in New Mexico. Owen…I have some very bad news for you." Oscar said in a shaky voice.

* * *

><p>Abby stopped and looked ahead at Marshall Hall. There were differences to be sure. There were electricity and phone lines going in and out. The building itself had been added to and renovated over the generations. But, she could still easily tell it was the place of her birth.<p>

* * *

><p>Abby sank to her knees as she looked at the headstone before her. It was faded with time and the elements, but the inscription was still visible.<p>

_Abigail Marshall_

_1750-1763_

Owen put his hand gently on his shoulder as Abby took a deep, heaving breath. For the first time, Owen wondered if their trip here was a mistake.

* * *

><p>"I'm Owen. This is Abby." Owen said to the dark-haired vampire.<p>

He nodded to them in acknowledgement. "Owen... Abbeeeyyyy" He intoned.

* * *

><p>Owen stared at the blonde girl in amazement. She wasn't a dead ringer for Abby. It wasn't like some movie where the same actor played lookalike ancestors or descendants, but he could easily tell that this girl was related to Abby.<p>

* * *

><p>"Eric, Magister, I think that we owe these two something in way of a debt of gratitude." Godric said simply as he rolled up his shirtsleeves.<p>

* * *

><p>"You said your name was Abby?"<p>

"That's right."

"I'm Melinda. Melinda Marshall." The blonde woman with a distinctive New York accent said. "This is my boyfriend, Damon Macready." She said, gesturing to a young man with dark hair and intense looking eyes that were offset by a goofy grin. "Damon", she said to the young man, "this is my cousin Abby."

"Wow sweetheart, I can see the family resemblance! Why that just knocks me for a loop!" Damon said with a swing of his arm to emphasize his words and he broke into a guffawing chuckle.


End file.
